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COUNSEL TO PARENTS, 



AND 



How to Save the Baby. 



BY 



if D. JOHNSON, M.D., 

AUTHOR OF "JOHNSON'S THERAPEUTIC KEY" AND OTHER 
MEDICAL WORKS. 



AUG 27 1889 4 



KENNETT SQUARE, PA. 
1889 



gton» 






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<^7 



Copyright, 1889, J. Z>. Johnson, M.D., 
Kennett Square, Pa. 



TO 

THE WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION THIS 

LITTLE VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



TO THE READER. 



We wish to say a few words in explanation 
of the motives that prompt us to write this 
little book. Its title sufficiently discloses the 
general nature of its contents, which it is un- 
necessary to particularize here. Suffice it to 
say that the subjects brought forth are of para- 
mount importance, not only to parents, but to 
all classes of society, and especially to the youth, 
who, through ignorance of the information it 
imparts, are making wrecks of themselves, 
physically and mentally. It discusses the 
marital relations, points out the sin of sexual 
excesses, exposes the common vices of youth, 
and warns the offender of his impending doom. 
It treats these delicate but vital subjects in such 
a manner that the youth as well as the adult 
may read them with untold advantage, and be 
enabled to steer clear of the rocks and shoals 
upon which so many valuable lives have been 
wrecked. 

(5) 



6 TO THE READER. 

The chief object, therefore, in preparing this 
work has been to give the reader some plain 
facts respecting the primary cause of disease 
and premature death, especially of the off- 
spring. We are aware that we have imposed 
upon ourselves a responsible task, but we have 
studied the subject well and feel competent to 
give the needed advice to those who are will- 
ing to accept it. We have grown old in the 
service, having devoted nearly forty years of our 
life in studying the cause of the diseases and 
premature deaths which we daily witness 
around us ; and we are satisfied that they are 
the direct result of the violation of the physio- 
logical laws, and which can and should be 
avoided. We write this little book, then, to 
give you the benefit of our observation and ex- 
perience, trusting they will lead you to cherish 
still more the precious gifts which the Heavenly 
Father has intrusted to your care, and with the 
hope that there may be less sin, less suffering, 
more joy and a higher estimate placed upon 
the inestimable blessings of health. It is such 
a book as we would put into the hands of every 
parent — yes, into the hands of every girl and 



TO THE READER. 7 

boy in the land old enough to understand and 
profit by its teachings. 

The truth is, the people need a better knowl- 
edge of the laws of life and health, that they 
may live in such a manner as to avoid disease. 
Everybody is sick ; the whole nation is suffer- 
ing from a nameless disease, the infection of which 
has secretly crept into the veins and very mar- 
row of our bones, sparing neither age, sex nor con- 
dition. All the doctors in Christendom cannot 
cure this " disease ivithout a name " until the 
cause is removed. AYe must begin at first prin- 
ciples; we must be rightly born, and live in 
accordance with the laws of life ; in other 
words, we must " cease to do evil and learn to 
do well." 

We are aware that during the past few years 
a number of books have been written on this 
and kindred subjects, some of which are valu- 
able and have done much good, others are un- 
scientific, filled with dry details and technical- 
ities such as only a professional reader can 
comprehend ; while others are the devices of 
unscrupulous persons, written for the purpose 
of making money by their direct sale or by 



8 TO THE READER. 

throwing out tempting baits for consultations 
or the sale of some favorite nostrum. We write 
from other motives, and with the happy 
thought that what we shall say will be the 
means by which thousands of men and women 
may preserve their own health and transmit 
as an inheritance to their children sound, 
vigorous constitutions. Then it will be that 
the painful and dangerous maladies that attack 
and destroy so many of our infants annually 
will be prevented, and the lives of these inno- 
cent little ones saved from a premature and 
untimely grave. 

And now, my dear reader, all we ask of you 
is that, with the purest of motives and the love 
of truth in your heart, you will read and study 
the following pages, and, so far as the teachings 
they contain commend themselves to your 
judgment, that you accept and follow them 
faithfully, and we humbly trust that your 
life will become purer and sweeter as you ac- 
cept the truths which are laid before you. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

To the Header, 7 

Chapter I. — Matrimonial, 11 

II. — Advice to Married People, 26 

11 III.— The Reproduction of Man, 42 

" IV.— Pregnancy, 50 

V. — Hygienic Precautions During Pregnancy 57 

VI. — Diseases Incident to Pregnancy, ... 67 

VII. — Abortion — Miscarriage — Foeticide, . . 74 

" VIII.— Labor— Parturition, 87 

" IX.— How to Care for the Baby, 91 

" X.— How to Save the Baby, 109 

" XL— How to Feed the Baby, 125 

" XII.— Hand-Feeding of Babies, 135 

" XIIL— The Early Education of Children, . . 149 

The Evil Effects of Alcohol, 158 

The Tobacco Habit, 177 

The Opium Bondage, 186 

" XIV.— Masturbation— Self-Abuse, 201 

General Conclusions, 215 



(9) 



COUNSEL TO PARENTS, 

AND 

HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 



CHAPTER I. 
MATRIMONIAL. 

Candidates for Matrimony — The Passion of Love — 
Mental and Physical Adaptation — Dishonesty 
in Love Affairs — Hints to Young Women — Hints 
to Young Men, etc., etc. 



The subject of marriage is not a theme for 
special consideration in this little volume. 
Neither time nor space will permit us to enter 
into any extended discussion of it here. We 
have only a few thoughtful words to offer the 
candidates of matrimony as a prelude to what 
is to follow in the discussion of the subject that 
adorns the title-page. And as we are about to 
consider the primary cause of disease which 
leads to premature death, we invite to our 
counsel all those who contemplate entering 

(11) 



12 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

the sacred relations of marriage, that we may 
reason together and find out. if possible, what 
part married people — and especially parents — 
act in the great drama of human life, as it re- 
lates to the production of disease and prema- 
ture death in the offspring. 

Health is the greatest blessing ever vouch- 
safed to man. It is the basis of all human 
happiness, progress and reform. Unfortunately 
for mankind we are all suffering " for the sin 
of being sick ; " the nations of the earth are 
diseased, dying prematurely. What the people 
want is health; and if we are ever to obtain it 
the work must begin at home with each indi- 
vidual. Every man and woman who lives in 
the conditions of health, and avoids the causes 
of disease, helps to make the race better ; and 
if such persons would combine their purified 
lives in the production of healthy offspring, they 
would do a noble work for the redemption of 
humanity. " There is no disease without a 
cause, and the cause is closely related to the 
remedy." In the following pages we wish to 
show what this remedy is, and how to apply it. 
The Passion of Love. — What is this pas- 
sion of love that reigns in the soul of man, that 
inspires in him such gallant respect for woman, 
and in woman such tender regard for man ? 
Is it mere affection,orfriendship,that magnetizes, 



MATRIMONIAL. 13 

as it were, with a thrill of delight, and makes 
the lips cling together in dewy kisses of inex- 
pressible rapture at the mere touch of the hand? 
As young men and women approach the years 
of maturity they become conscious of a new 
and strong attachment for each other, unlike 
that experienced in . their early school-days. 
When this attraction or magnetic influence ex- 
ists in a strong degree between one man and 
one woman, and is reciprocal, it is called 
love, and by common consent is made an essen- 
tial condition of marriage. Such attraction is 
based on the sexual nature, which begins at the 
age of puberty, and which creates wants that 
must be met before the fullest development of 
persons can be attained. Sexual passion, then 
— which is a legitimate and component part of 
love — exerts no small share in " the tie that 
binds " in the marriage relations; indeed, so 
closely connected is it with what we call love, 
that it is impossible to tell where one ends and 
the other begins ; therefore, those who are quali- 
fied to confer on each other this summum boiium 
of matrimonial felicity are bound together by 
the strongest bonds of union connected with 
our nature. 

"Marriage, then," says Mrs. Shepherd, "is 
the heaven-ordained way for men and women 
to associate, so that all the longings and needs 



14 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

of their whole being may be gratified. For 
people have an instinctive sense that not only 
the physical nature, but even the intellec- 
tual and spiritual elements of the soul will flour- 
ish best in the companionship of one chosen and 
cherished above all others of the sex. In a 
perfect union this will be the case. What one 
lacks in character the other will supply." 

Mental and Physical Adaptation. — And 
now a few suggestions to the candidates for 
matrimony. One of the most important mat- 
ters to be considered in forming a matrimonial 
alliance is for the parties to secure entire men- 
tal and physical adaptation. If we study the 
mental constitution of man, we find it com- 
posed of moral, intellectual and perceptive fac- 
ulties ; these distinguish him from all others of 
the animal creation. Woman possesses the 
same mental faculties as man, but in a subordi- 
nate degree. In man the intellectual faculties 
predominate, in woman the afFectional. It is 
said man reaches conclusions through the proc- 
ess of reasoning, woman by intuition. Man 
acts from reasoning or through the understand- 
ing, woman from impulse or affection. Men 
and women differ mentally as well as physi- 
cally in many respects. Some men have 
stronger affections than some women, and some 
women have stronger intellects than some men. 



MATRIMONIAL. 15 

Man physically is superior to woman in all that 
constitutes manhood, whereas woman is supe- 
rior to man in all that constitutes womanhood, 
so that neither, mentally nor physically, can 
claim superiority over the other. This is as 
it should be, for we find all things created 
with relation of perfect fitness or harmony to 
nature ; and if we only obey the laws of our 
being, we will have health and happiness as a 
reward of well-doing. A true marriage is ca- 
pable of yielding the highest degree of happi- 
ness, and such a harmonious relationship can 
only exist between persons of similar endow- 
ments, and not between those of opposites. 
Mental adaptation in marriage consists in, at 
least, an approximate correspondence of the 
mental faculties. A man with large intellec- 
tual faculties should never be united to a wo- 
man with equal or superior intellect, for in that 
case she will neither admire nor appreciate his 
wisdom. No wife can respect a husband who 
is her inferior, and without respect there can 
be no love. Nor can an intelligent husband 
enjoy the society of a wife who is ignorant or 
of feeble intellect. And for similar reasons a 
man with very strong affections should not 
marry a woman_ with feeble affections, for in 
that case the man will neither appreciate nor 
reciprocate her love. So it seems certain that 



16 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

where the union between the sexes is to be a 
happy one, the affection should be the strong- 
est on the side of the woman, and where the 
intellect is to decide the matter, the preponder- 
ance should be on the side of the man. As to 
the moral faculties, they should be about equal 
in each, for the possession of high religious sen- 
timents by one, and a total destitution of them 
in the other, is a frequent cause of matrimonial 
discords ; for a devoted husband will cease to 
love a wife who neither sympathizes with nor 
participates in his religious sentiments. On 
the other hand, if two persons marry who have 
large combativeness, there will be domestic 
strife and discord where peace should reign 
supreme. Then, again, if both should pos- 
sess a predominant love for ruling others, it 
is plain to be seen what a conflict there would 
be when the actors undertook to exercise their 
rightful prerogatives with each other. Or, let 
two be wedded whose ruling passion is love of 
money, and their desire for gain will grow 
stronger and stronger each day, and with its 
acquisition will come an endless struggle for its 
possession, which they must soon leave for in- 
terested relatives to quarrel over. And so it is 
with all the evil passions which are predomi- 
nant in both : they will strengthen in each other 
as time goes on, and, beside the unhappy results 



MATRIMONIAL. 17 

which accrue to the parties themselves, still 
more disastrous must be the evil tendencies 
transmitted to their offspring. But if those of 
opposite or different passions come together, 
then there will be frequent dissensions and 
family jars ; but the tendency will be rather to 
restrain than strengthen the predominant pas- 
sions ; and, however unpleasant or painful this 
want of harmony may be, it is far better than 
the marriage of those in whom the evil passions 
are similar. Therefore, if the great ends of 
marriage — which are the present and future hap- 
piness of man, and the perpetuation of the race 
— are to be fulfilled, it is of infinite importance 
that all those who purpose entering the bonds 
of matrimony should secure, if possible, entire 
mental and physical adaptation in reference to 
these objects. And at the expense of repetition 
we would say that a man with strong intellect- 
ual faculties should marry a woman with cor- 
respondingly strong mental endowments; 
that a man with strong affections should 
choose for his wife one with equal or even 
stronger affections. And a man with strong 
animal passions should never marry a woman 
with equally strong animal passions; and in 
no case should he take for his wife a weak, del- 
icate woman, for reasons given elsewhere. On 
the other hand, persons with evil passions pre- 



18 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

dominating should never unite in wedlock 
with those of similar passions, but with oppo- 
sites. A young woman should not forget that 
her lover virtually proposes himself as the fu- 
ture father of her children; only from this 
standpoint can she make an intelligent and safe 
estimate of him. 

Physical Adaptation. — In regard to the 
physical qualifications of candidates for the 
hymeneal altar, it will be better for the present 
and future good of the human race if large and 
well-formed men would select for companions 
women of a proportionate size. And, for a 
similar reason, it will be better for a small man 
and a large woman, or a large man and a small 
woman, to unite in marriage, so that the size 
and strength of the one may make up for the 
diminutiveness and weakness of the other ; but 
the disparity in size should not be great. For 
it must be evident to all that these conditions 
will have a direct bearing on the mental and 
physical development of the future offspring; 
and if we would transmit to posterity a noble 
race of men and women, we must comply- with 
the laws of procreation. We cannot expect 
strong, vigorous, healthy children from weak, 
dwarfish or deformed parents. The farmer 
does not expect good corn or wheat if he sows 
a poor quality of seed ; nor does he expect to 



MATRIMONIAL. 19 

. raise good cows and sheep from a poor, diminu- 
tive breed, or a beautiful fleet horse from an 
inferior stock. And as man is an animal he is 
subject to all the laws of hereditary descent 
which govern the propagation of other animals. 
So, diseased parents beget diseased children, 
and through them it is handed down to the 
third and fourth generation. But with good 
conditions and surroundings the mistakes and 
'diseases of birth may be gradually eradicated, 
and children born ugly, diseased, and wdth 
unfortunate mental and moral tendencies, may 
become beautiful, healthy and good. 

It is hardly necessary to define more specifi- 
cally the mental and physical adaptation in 
marriage; very few will follow advice in regard 
to this matter; the emotions carry the individ- 
uals away, and reason loses all control. Let 
all young persons, therefore, be exceedingly 
careful how they allow emotional excitement to 
gain the ascendancy. 

Dishonesty in Love Affairs. — Having 
briefly considered the question of mental and 
physical adaptation in marriage, w r e come to 
speak of another matter that is closely related 
to our subject, and one that should interest all 
who are seeking matrimonial felicity. We refer 
to the matter of dishonesty practiced among 
young people in their love affairs. Too many, 



20 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

in conducting their courtships, practice all 
manner of deceptions to entrap each other. If 
the young lady be religious, her admiring 
friend will attend church regularly and go 
through all the forms of worship ; if she is of a 
literary turn of mind, he takes to books and 
study ; if she is opposed to the use of tobacco, 
he temporarily discards the "filthy weed;" if 
she takes snuff, he does the sneezing. If his 
form is ugly, crooked or ill-shaped, he bribes 
the tailor to conceal the defects. If nature has 
failed in developing her womanly charms, then 
cotton and whalebone, powder and paint make 
up for the deficiency. Many a man has mar- 
ried what he supposed was an armful of female 
loveliness, which proved to be little more than 
a bundle of dry-goods. 

Thus is every form of device resorted to in 
courtship to cover up the mental and physical 
defects, which must sooner or later be exposed 
after marriage. Men and women should no 
more deceive each other in love affairs than in 
the affairs of business. If they do so, then they 
are swindlers and cheats, which the parties will 
come to realize when it is too late. Honesty is 
the best policy, not only in love affairs, but in 
all the transactions of human life. For a 
young man to gain the affections of a j 7 oung 
lady, or a young lady to gain the affections of 



MATRIMONIAL. 21 

a young man by false pretenses, is no less a 
crime than obtaining money by similar means, 
and the act should be made an indictable 
offense at common law, and the perpetrator 
punished accordingly. This would put a stop 
to rascals becoming the husbands of virtuous 
women, and female tricksters from taking ad- 
vantage of honest men. When men and 
women come to realize the importance of deal- 
ing frankly and honestly with each other, then 
will a real, genuine reform be^inaugurated in 
all the relations of life. 

Marrying For Wealth. — Again, parents 
or relatives often instigate matrimonial unions 
from false and selfish motives. Persons form- 
ing such an alliance under these circumstances 
are seldom so fortunate as to get congenial 
companions. Men will sometimes marry those 
for whom they possess not one spark of affec- 
tion, in order to secure wealth. And women 
will often accept the proposals of rich men for 
whom they hardly feel common respect, think- 
ing that a luxurious home and glittering gold 
will compensate for the misery they will have 
to encounter from an odious husband. No 
greater delusion can be entertained than that 
riches alone can make persons happy in matri- 
mony. True marriage is not a trap in which 
people are caught, nor a Bastile in which they 



22 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

are confined. It is a condition of mutual 
attraction in absolute freedom, and not one 
that can be purchased with silver or gold. 
Hence, marrying for a home, or to please 
parents or friends, seldom leads to a true 
spiritual union, where peace, contentment and 
harmony should reign, but often subjects the 
parties to a slavery the most abject. Two per- 
sons may swear eternal love to each other upon 
a "stack of Bibles" as high as a house, but if they 
do not love each other, they have no right to 
expect that peace and happiness which grow 
out of the spiritual union of two loving souls. 
Without a strict observance of the laws of 
natural attraction that should exist betw T een 
the parties, it will be far better for humanity, 
and the innocent offspring of remote posterity, 
if such persons would consent to remain in a 
state of single blessedness. And now, in nego- 
tiating a life partnership, let me give a few 

Hints to Young Women. — Let no young 
woman accept the heart and hand of a young 
man who uses alcoholic liquors in any form, or 
tobacco. We can imagine nothing more piti- 
ful than a young woman being led to the 
marriage altar by a young man who is addicted 
to the use of intoxicating liquors ; the chances 
are ten to one that she wall drag out a miser- 
able and unhappy existence, and finally die a 
drunkard's broken-hearted wife. 



MATRIMONIAL. 23 

Shun the young man who uses tobacco ; if 
he does not already drink intoxicating liquors, 
he is almost certain to do so, for it is a well- 
known fact that nine-tenths of all who use 
tobacco use alcoholic stimulants to a greater 
or less extent ; while among those who abstain 
from the use of tobacco not one in fifty uses 
alcoholic beverages. 

This is a grave matter for a young woman 
to consider before entering into a life-partner- 
ship with a young man. For a clean, pure, 
loving woman to marry a man who is addicted 
to the dirty, filthy practice of smoking or chew- 
ing tobacco is contrary to all her natural and 
womanly instincts. No man would think of 
marrying a woman who uses tobacco, or in- 
toxicating liquors, or profane language, or who 
was a gambler or a licentious woman ! Yet 
women very often marry men, with a full 
knowledge of all these facts, regarding them as 
a necessary element of man's nature. 

Do not marry a lustful man, or you will have 
cause to regret it. If his approaches towards 
you indicate that he is that kind of a fellow, do 
not consent to become his wife ; if you do, you 
will have a domestic trouble on your hands 
that will last nearly as long as he lives. 

Never marry an invalid, or a man who inherits 
the taint of insanity, consumption, cancer, epi- 



24 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

lepsy or scrofula ; if you do, your children will 
inherit and suffer from the same diseases, and 
you will find him a poor arm of support when 
the strain of life comes. 

Never marry a close-fisted, niggardly man ; if 
you do, you will be afflicted the balance of your 
natural life. He will "stint you in every thing," 
and make you - l beg for every cent of money 
you get " that comes through your joint-earn- 
ings. 

Never marry a "dude" or a young man who 
drives a fast horse and carries a long whip ; he 
will never amount to much, except during the 
honeymoon ; after that he will begin to w T ane 
and finally turn out a failure. 

Never marry a man under twenty-three or 
twenty-four years of age, and don't let him marry 
you until you are over twenty. Children begot- 
ten by fathers between the ages of 25 and 40 
years are the most robust ; this is also true of 
those born of mothers between the ages of 20 
and 30 years. 

Hints to Young Men. — On the other 
hand, let no young man select for his wife 
a young woman with a temperament very 
similar to his own ; it should be differ- 
ent from his in all leading characteristics. 
The shape of her head as well as her body 
should be different from yours. 



MATRIMONIAL. 25 

Never marry a woman with a small waist; 
you will entail upon your offspring not only 
ill health, but deformity which will descend 
to future posterity. 

Never marry a pale, delicate woman; if you 
do, you will regret it all your life. You will 
have her to watch and to nurse, instead of hav- 
ing her as a helpmate; and, besides, your chil- 
dren, if they live, will grow up weakly, sickly 
mortals, and never enjoy health. 

Never select a wife from a family that is 
tainted with epilepsy, insanity or consumption. 
These diseases are almost certain to develop in 
the wife and descend to her children as a 
legacy. 

And, finally, never marry a woman without 
first telling her everything you know about 
yourself, and what your aims and aspirations 
are. Be perfectly frank and honest with her ; 
do not deceive her under any circumstances. 
She will find you out after the wedding, and 
if you have taken advantage of her, she will 
never have entire confidence in you thereafter. 
If you cannot do this, just be frank enough to 
say to her that your character is such that you 
are unworthy to become her husband, and that 
she must forgive your shortcomings, and then, 
without repugnance of conscience, bid her fare- 
well. 



CHAPTER II. 
ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 

The Matrimonial Voyage — A Few Suggestions— In- 
terests Reciprocal — Indifference — The Value 
of a Smile — Deception — Abuse of the Sexual 
Functions — What Constitutes Abuse— Cause of 
Disease — Entire Continence. 



Having in the previous article made a few 
suggestions for the benefit of those who were 
candidates for marriage, we wish to devote a 
brief space to the consideration of that other 
class of individuals who, having " taken each 
other for better or w r orse," and having pledged 
themselves to mutual fidelity and love, are 
about to start on their matrimonial journey of 
life. 

And now, right at the threshold, at the very 
beginning, let me whisper in your ears a few 
words which, if fairly recognized, will be of in- 
estimable advantage to you. We will suppose 
that you have gone through a happy courtship ; 
that you have stood up amid friends and flowers 
and made a solemn promise to love and protect 
each other ; that you have received the con- 

(26) 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 27 

gratulations of friends and the prayers of lov- 
ing parents. Now, after this is all over, and 
you have retired to your chamber to meditate 
and talk over your future prospects in life, and 
the happy moments you have spent together, 
and how much you love each other, remember 
that this love which you bear to each other, and 
which you should prize above everything else 
in this world, will gradually disappear if you 
give yourself up to unrestrained sexual indul- 
gence. And also remember that j 7 ou must not 
only avoid excesses, but you must preserve that 
chastity and respect for each other that have 
hitherto characterized your behavior during 
courtship. A countless host of young married 
people turn their love into indifference through 
their ignorance in regard to these matters. 

Again, we would suggest another little matter 
which you will find of great practical impor- 
tance as you journey along through life : have 
a little drawer in your secretary or bureau in 
which to keep your money ; have a good lock 
on it supplied with two keys — one for each of 
you — and let it be fairly understood that either 
party shall have the same right and privilege 
to use this money as the other. This little ar- 
rangement will prevent a great deal of trouble 
between you, and will increase your mutual 
confidence and love for each other. 



28 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

Interests Reciprocal.— The interests of 
husband and wife are so interwoven that what- 
ever effects one is sure to effect the other. 
Wives especially have been advised as to what 
their duty is, while husbands have been much 
neglected in this particular. It will be well for 
both to read the marriage ceremony once in a 
while to see if they live up to the promise made 
to love, obey and cherish each other. It is far 
too common for husbands to think if they pro- 
vide money generously for their wives that 
they have done their whole duty. But there is 
something besides money that is necessary to 
make the home what it should be — a center of 
peace and happiness. We also hear much said 
about the influence of women in the home, 
which no one will underrate ; but, says a writer : 
" The husband is to the home what the sun is 
to the natural world, and we all know what a 
difference it makes whether the sun shines out 
bright and clear, or is cloudy. We can scarcely 
rise above the depressing influence of darkened 
skies, and no family can rise above the gloom 
that falls on it when the face of the father and 
husband is turned in darkness away from it. I 
know that a man's business is often harassing, and 
in the world he gets many rough jostlings, and he 
ought to have everything serene and sweet at 
home ; and every true wife will accord it. But 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 29 

if he meets vexations and perplexities in his 
business, that gives him no right to come home 
ill-natured and gloomy. His wife may have 
had an equally trying day at home. If he 
comes home bright and cheery, and she, for- 
getting her troubles, meets him in the same 
spirit, how much better than for both to be de- 
spondent and ill-humored. Dear friends, try 
the sunshine. It will be reflected back into 
your own lives, making each day glad. Few 
husbands realize how much their w r ives value 
praise and commendation from their husbands' 
lips, how by appreciative words the w r ife's cares 
and trials are lightened and her burdens made 
easy to bear. Life holds no sorrows that can 
hurt very much if full love and confidence exist 
between husband and w r ife. The wife should 
know about her husband's business ; it will 
guide her in her expenditures and will 
strengthen the bonds of sympathy. 

" Indifference is the deadly rust of married 
life. It should never be allowed to get a foot- 
hold in the home. As we keep our silver bright 
by constant polishing, and our cutlery by con- 
stant scouring, so should we take pains to keep 
ourselves bright and fresh for each other, and 
practice all the innocent social arts that made 
the period of courtship so delightful. For 
whom should the husband make himself inter- 



30 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

esting and attractive, but for the being nearest 
to him on earth ? On whom should the wife 
lavish blandishments and fascinations, if not 
on her husband ?" 

The Value of a Smile. — Beside sunshine, 
who can tell the value of a smile ? It costs the 
giver nothing, but is beyond price to the 
erring and relenting, the sad and cheerless, the 
lost and forsaken. It disarms malice, subdues 
temper, turjis hatred to love, revenge to kind- 
ness, and paves the darkest paths with gems of 
sunlight. A smile on the brow betrays a kind 
heart, a pleasant friend, an affectionate mother, 
a dutiful son, a happy husband. It adds a 
charm to beauty, and it decorates the face of 
even the most deformed. 

Deception. — Another matter worthy of con- 
sideration is the necessity of starting with and 
maintaining perfect confidence in each other. 
No deception whatever should be allowed to 
exist between husband and wife ; every thought 
and deed should be made known to each other. 
The husband should entertain no secrets or 
business transactions that he is not willing to 
confide to his wife. And if the wife has any 
secrets " locked up in her heart" that she 
" would not have her husband know for the 
world," the sooner she ventilates the matter the 
better it will be for all concerned. It always 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 31 

strengthens the confidence in each other when 
a confession is made of any injustice or wrong 
committed by one against the other. On the 
other hand, anything hidden or concealed by 
one, though never discovered by the other, is 
sure to breed discontent sooner or later, because 
it is a peculiarity of the human mind to sus- 
pect in others what we are guilty of ourselves. 
And whenever husband or wife detects any 
deception in each other, it is about time to take 
an account of stock, and prepare to divide the 
household goods ; then, bidding each other 
good-bye, one starting in the direction of the 
rising, and the other towards the setting sun, 
make haste to get as far apart as possible, burn- 
ing all bridges in the rear; for it will be im- 
possible to restore confidence when deceit and 
dishonesty have had a hiding-place in the bo- 
som of either. Therefore, if the matrimonial 
voyage is to be a pleasant and happy one, if 
husband and wife are to journey along together 
through life, and enjoy the blessings that come 
only from two loving hearts, then they must be 
just to themselves, to their neighbor, and to all 
mankind. For, remember, all that is base and 
mean and miserable comes from a disregard 
of the principles enunciated in the golden rule, 
that whatsoever ye would that others should 
do unto you, do ye also unto them. 



32 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

Abuses of the Sexual Function. — A deli- 
cate subject, truly, but one we cannot afford to 
overlook, as it has a direct bearing on the sub- 
ject under consideration. By many the mar- 
riage vow seems to be regarded as equivalent 
to the largest license for an unlimited indul- 
gence of the animal propensity. The evils 
which result from such indulgence are liable 
to be overlooked even by the parties them- 
selves, but they are well known by every 
physician of common experience. The hus- 
band frequently suffers from general debility, 
weakness and pain in the back, cramps, dys- 
pepsia, impotency and a tendency to epileptic 
seizures, etc. And an evil of no small account 
is the steady groivth of the sexual passion from 
a want of proper restraint in this direction. 
In this way the habitual yielding to inclina- 
tion often determines the life-long behavior of 
the parties concerned. Much harm to both 
sexes has resulted from the widespread teach- 
ing that the passion of men is by nature 
stronger than that of women. It has led 
millions of men to feel justified in gratifying 
lust, under the name of passion, at any cost, 
sacrifice or suffering to their victims both 
within the marriage pale and outside of it. 

But the chief sufferers from the abuse of this 
function are the wives and innocent offspring. 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 33 

Nearly all medical writers agree that one of 
the most' common causes of uterine derange- 
ment and female weakness to which married 
women are subject comes from excessive co- 
habitation. Thousands of these unfortunate 
wives are constantly under the doctor's care 
for the treatment of local ailments which have 
their sole origin in sexual excesses, for which 
their husbands are responsible. The diseases 
known as inflammation and ulceration of the 
womb, prolapsus, leucorrhoea, deranged men- 
struation, dysmenorrhoea, miscarriage, hysteria 
and an endless train of sympathetic nervous 
affections are among the number attributed to 
this cause. Not that men and women may not 
suffer from all these diseases where no such 
excesses have been indulged, but they are much 
more liable to occur where these excesses have 
been committed. The gratification, then, of 
this passion — or any other beyond its legiti- 
. mate end — is always attended with serious re- 
sults. The process is undoubtedly one of the 
most exhausting and draws more heavily upon 
the vitality of man and woman than any other 
of the animal functions. And the delicate hus- 
band or wife who indulges in this gratification 
to any great extent will necessarily have to suf- 
fer in consequence, for they seldom have any 
strength to expend in that direction. 



34 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

0. S. Fowler, who is excellent authority on 
this subject, says: "Many a husband has buried 
more wives than one, killed outright, ignorantly 
yet effectually, by the brutality of his passion. 
Reader, if thou knowest none such thou knowest 
not the cause of all the deaths that transpire 
around thee ! And yet the pulpit, the press, 
the lecture-room are silent in view of this vast, 
this wicked waste of life." 

But it is not the husband and wife alone who 
suffer from this abuse. If it were it would be, 
comparatively speaking, of little consequence; 
but it is the innocent offspring and society at 
large that are the chief sufferers. And if we 
are ever to have a strong, vigorous, healthy 
offspring, free from the taint of disease and 
out of which to construct a noble race of men 
and women, then we must look to the parents 
to give us such, for the first condition of health 
to every organized being is to be well born. 

Without this prerequisite we shall continue 
to have a poor, weak, sickly, short-lived and 
suffering offspring. For it must be borne in 
mind that the seeds of disease are sown in the 
mother's womb. 

In the act of reproduction the seminal fluid 
is furnished by the male, and the ova or germ 
is supplied by the female ; when these constitu- 
ents come together they form the rudiments of 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 35 

the foetus or future human being. Now, any 
unhealthy condition of the male will affect the 
seminal fluid; if he has exhausted his vitality 
by the abuse of the sexual passions ; if he has 
poisoned his system by the use of narcotic 
stimulants, rum or tobacco, then he cannot 
beget a healthy child. If the female is dis- 
eased, or is the victim of any vice that lowers 
her standard of health or has dwarfed her 
body, then she is unable to furnish the life- 
germ for healthy offspring. A " corrupt tree 
cannot bring forth good fruit ; " neither can 
diseased parents bring forth healthy children. 
Until we come to understand the laws of hered- 
itary transmission, and strive to avoid the 
causes of disease, we must continue to " suffer 
for the sin of being sick." Humanity lies 
groaning under the accumulated errors of 
ages, and these have been handed down to us 
as an inheritance by our progenitors, until the 
very life-blood of the nation has become pol- 
luted, and we are threatened on all sides with 
disease and premature death. Now, every 
man and woman who lives in the conditions 
of health, and who avoids the causes of disease, 
helps the race; and if such persons would 
combine their efforts in the production of a 
healthy offspring, they would achieve a noble 
work for the redemption and purification of 
humanity. 



36 counsel to parents. 

What Constitutes an Abuse of the Ani- 
mal Passion? — This question will naturally 
arise in the mind of every thoughtful person. 
It is one of vital importance and deserving 
serious consideration. 

The relation of husband and wife is essen- 
tially one of purity and use ; if either person 
seeks simply the selfish gratification of passion, 
without regard to the health and happiness of the 
other or desire for children, it becomes sensual. 
Marriage should never be regarded as a condi- 
tion granting license to the passions. The re- 
production of human life is certainly a legiti- 
mate use for the gratification of the sexual 
function, but when indulged to excess from 
mere passionate enjoyment it becomes an evil of 
fearful magnitude. The question is not what 
is pleasurable, or what is an excess, but what 
is right and useful. The lower animals, not 
gifted with erring reason, but with unerring 
instinct, and not having the liberty of choice 
between good and evil, cohabit only at stated 
periods, when pleasure and reproduction are 
alike possible. Would that we could say as 
much for man! With all his intellect and 
reasoning powers, he is a slave to his passions, 
and too often enters the marriage relations as 
an excuse for free indulgence. Such persons 
would have us believe they are acting accord- 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 37 

irig to their natural propensities; but man's 
nature is perverted, and therefore cannot be re- 
lied upon as a safe guide. 

Many eminent writers contend that temperate 
indulgence tends to strengthen the bonds which 
unite husband and wife, and adds to their health 
and happiness ; while others, equally eminent, 
among whom are some of our most distinguished 
physiologists and medical observers, agree that 
" intercourse not intended to be fruitful is un- 
hallowed, and, if meant to be unfruitful, is 
licentious, whether had in or out of wedlock ;" 
and that there is but one way to guard against 
sexual excess, and that is non-intercourse except 
for the production of offspring. This may seem 
at first thought like the prohibition of a legiti- 
mate pleasure, and some will say they might 
as well live bachelors or old maids ; but when 
we come to understand the intent of the laws 
of this department of our being, we shall find 
it is the onty safe and right road that leads to 
health and happiness. 

The whole human family is sick ; wherever 
we go or look we find men and women suffer- 
ing from a nameless disease. It is especially 
noticeable among married people. They look 
careworn, are pale, listless, depressed in spirits, 
are irritable, have poor appetites and bad 
memories; they have weak eyes and are obliged 



38 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

to wear glasses even while young in years ; they 
suffer from headache, indigestion, and have 
frequent moody spells. They are not exactly 
sick, but always complaining, and have an 
aversion to all kinds of employment. This 
" disease without a name " is transmitted to the 
innocent offspring who come into the world 
with weak, delicate constitutions, one-third of 
whom die before they reach their second birth- 
day, while those who survive grow up with 
enfeebled bodies and sensual appetites to per- 
petuate this disease without a name through fu- 
ture generations. Every city, town and coun- 
try village is full of men and women who are 
victims of this disease without a name. They 
take all manner of drugs, nostrums and quack 
medicines, " nerve-tonics," " bitters," " iron," 
" blood-purifiers," etc. Doctors far and near 
are consulted, but to little or no purpose, and 
thousands of these victims go down to the 
grave annually, while their nearest relatives 
and most intimate friends know not the cause 
of their early decay and premature death. 

Now, there is a cause for this " disease without 
a name,'' and that cause is excessive sexual indul- 
gence. The abuse of this passion has been the 
besetting sin in all ages, and to-day it threatens 
the very existence of our race. There is but one 
way to cure this disease, and that is to stop the 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 6\i 

producing cause. Most women and many men 
can do this if they will. What the people 
want is to be enlightened on this subject, to 
be made aware of the terrible consequences 
which result from an abuse of the sexual func- 
tions. The errors which have been generated 
in the past can onty be counteracted by edu- 
cating the young on sexual ethics, and a gen- 
eral dissemination of knowledge on the normal 
functions and rational uses of the generative 
organs. Ignorance is the active agent of all 
evil, and especially is this the case in regard to 
the marital relations. 

Entire Coxtixexce. — A very erroneous idea 
prevails among some that continence is inju- 
rious to health, giving rise to a diseased condi- 
tion. Some physicians have taught this, and 
books have been written in support of the 
theory. The assumption is that the seminal 
fluid is analogous to bile, gastric juice, saliva 
and other glandular secretions, which, when 
once formed, must be used and expelled from 
the system. The logical deduction from this 
theory is, that men or boys after the age of 
puberty, to maintain the standard of health, 
must expel the seminal fluid at certain periods, 
either by sexual intercourse or by masturba- 
tion. Such a theory is not only erroneous, but 
is repugnant to the moral and finer sensibilities 



40 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

of human nature. It affords the immoral a 
ready excuse for their debauchery, and " turns 
the heaven of the affections into a hell of the 
passions, which is fast destroying the vitality 
and happiness of our race." There can be no 
doubt that a total abstinence from sexual in- 
dulgence is compatible with a healthy state of 
the body. The highest medical authorities 
agree that no disease or tendency to any dis- 
ease results from entire continence. And 
while vital statistics prove that the average 
duration of life is greater among married than 
among single, yet it is more than probable that 
this is due to other causes than those under 
consideration. As a general rule, the habits 
of married people are more uniform and tem- 
perate than the unmarried; they are less 
exposed, better contented and happier — all of 
which are sufficient to account for the differ- 
ence in longevity. 

In our present unnatural condition, conti- 
nence would seem to be almost impossible: 
but, with the love of truth and a determination 
to do right, we are convinced that there is not 
an unruly passion or morbid fancy which may 
not be controlled. The first step in the right 
direction to accomplish this is to occupy the 
mind with pure thoughts and noble senti- 
ments ; to avoid all sensual excitation, and the 



ADVICE TO MARRIED PEOPLE. 41 

reading of sentimental and immoral romances 
which tend to excite the animal passions. Liv- 
ing an honest, sober, industrious life will do 
much to appease the venereal appetite, and 
sustain our efforts in getting rid of bad habits. 
Persons who have not already given way to 
improper indulgences will find little difficulty 
in restraining themselves, if they will properly 
restrain their thoughts and avoid the use of 
stimulants, narcotics, tea, coffee and tobacco. 
By pursuing this course they will soon find 
their desires growing less and their passions 
much more easily controlled. 

An important matter of hygiene and true 
living is separate beds for children as well 
as adults, married and single ; it puts tempta- 
tion somewhat out of the w T ay of the easily 
tempted, and, besides, it is more conducive 
to health, (See Criminal Abortion). 



CHAPTER III. 
THE REPRODUCTION OF MAN. 

Conception — The Male and Female Principle which 
Unites to Form a New Being — Conditions Neces- 
sary to Insure Healthy Offspring— Primary 
Cause of Disease — Fcetal Development, etc. 



Conception. — As stated in a previous article, 
conception takes place by the male sperm com- 
ing in positive contact with the ova or germ-cells 
furnished by the generative organs of the fe- 
male, so that a new being results. This sublime 
function is performed by the two male and fe- 
male organs, the testes and the ovaries. The 
spermatic fluid, which is secreted by the testi- 
cles, is a whitish viscid fluid that resembles the 
white of egg and contains numerous small 
cells called sperm-cells or spermatozoa. The ova 
or ovules of the female are small globular- 
shaped vesicles containing minute germ-cells; 
these are found in the ovaries of the female in 
different stages of development. In the healthy 
female after puberty, one or more of these 
vesicles become matured, burst and are set 
free, then make their way through the fallopian 

(42) 



THE REPRODUCTION OF MAN. 4d 

tubes into the cavity of the uterus. This ma- 
turing and expulsion of an ovum take place 
every month at each return of the menses. 
During sexual congress the spermatic fluid is 
thrown full into the mouth of the womb, here 
it is transmitted by some mysterious process up 
through the fallopian tubes to the ovaries, 
where it unites with the ovum, and conception 
takes place. Thus conjointly united the male 
and female principle becomes a new creation, 
a new human being, which in due process of 
time develops into an individual which is an 
exact counterpart of its parents. 

Thus it will be seen that certain conditions 
are necessary if conception is to take place. 
First, there must be a matured ovum set free 
from the ovary ; this is marked by the men- 
strual evacuation. Now, abundant observation 
has shown that conception generally takes 
place within fourteen days after the entire ces- 
sation of the menstrual flow, very rarely after 
seventeen days, and within two days of the 
commencement of the next period. This leaves 
four or five days of almost complete exemption 
from a liability to conceive. There is no period, 
however, of absolute exemption. Owing to 
false methods of living, the use of stimulants, 
and the excitement of the animal passions, the 
ovum may ripen prematurely and thus increase 
the liability to conceive. 



44 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

Evolution of the Fcetus. — After concep- 
tion the fecundated ovum usually remains 
quiet within the ovary for about five days, 
During this time the initial stages of subtle 
and mysterious vital organization and growth 
are taking place — processes too mysterious and 
profound for the successful exploration by the 
eye of man. " Wonderful arcana of Nature ! in 
which, after all our profoundest scrutiny into 
the mystery of life, we can discern only the 
means and the ends, but not the manner. 
We see the minute representative forms of two 
lives combined to produce a third, in which 
shall appear, during all the possible threescore 
years and ten of its subsequent life, the general 
characteristics of the nation or tribe to which 
its progenitors belong ; the characteristics of 
the family as distinguished from those of other 
families in the vicinity ; and, lastly, the personal 
peculiarities of each of the immediate parents, 
all of which are impressed upon the embryonic 
germ, grow with its growth, and strengthen 
with its strength." — Guernsey. 

But not only are the striking characteristics 
of race transmitted, but all observations prove 
that moral, mental and physical qualities of 
health and disease are transmitted by both pa- 
rents, and impressed upon the ovum in the act 
of impregnation. " The recent developments 



THE REPRODUCTION OF MAN. 45 

made in the study of heredity ," says Dr. Willard 
Parker, " show that not only physical but mental 
and moral qualities are believed to be transmis- 
sible. Even instinct is regarded as hereditary 
knowledge — the offspring inheriting in its phy- 
sical constitution the acquired knowledge of the 
parents." If this be so, then, what a fearful re- 
sponsibility rests upon the parents. Think of 
the moral depravity, the brutish disposition, 
the idiocy, the insanity and homicidal tenden- 
cies which threaten the extinction of our race, 
being entailed upon successive generations by 
the use of alcoholic liquors. Think of the nu- 
merous diseases engendered by the use of to- 
bacco, opium, and other narcotics. These are 
all poisons which are retained in the system, 
producing nervous exhaustion, and laying the 
foundation of disease not only in the parents, 
but in their innocent offspring as well. 

People wonder why it is so many children 
are born into the w r orld with dwarfish forms 
and feeble constitutions. They marvel at their 
suffering lives and early decay, but never con- 
sider for a moment the important part they act 
in this great drama of human life, 

"But blame heaven for the tangled ends, 
And sit, and grieve, and wonder." 

If a tithe of the knowledge we possess of w r hat 
may be transmitted from parent to child be 



46 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

true, then a fearful responsibility rests upon all 
parents who would preserve the immaculate 
purity of their offspring, by giving them vigor- 
ous, healthy constitutions, free from the taint 
of disease. To secure these, the first consider- 
ation is, they must be wtU bom. 

Primary Cause of Disease. — The parents 
at the time of begetting must be in all pure 
and natural and in a healthy condition. The 
primary cause of disease is a hereditary lack of 
vitality, either in the germ, the sperm, or in 
the combination of both. And next to this, 
and proceeding from the same cause, comes the 
taint of scrofula, consumption, gout, syphilis, 
insanity, with a long train of other disorders. 
These are all hereditary, and some of them are 
manifest in the offspring at an early period of 
its life. Then, again, there is no doubt that 
thousands of infant germs are poisoned in utero 
by drug medication, while still more are born 
diseased from the same cause. The mother's 
blood is poisoned, and from it the infant re- 
ceives its nourishment. 

How sad to contemplate the consequences of 
parents fastening upon these innocent little 
ones diseased and enfeebled constitutions, from 
w r hich they must suffer and perhaps die prema- 
turely, or, if perchance they should live, must 
drag out a miserable existence the balance of 



THE REPRODUCTION OF MAN. 47 

their mortal lives. But Nature is very kind 
and neglects nothing that can benefit her creat- 
ures. She exerts herself at all times to pre- 
serve the race, even from these evils; and, with 
all things working together for good, we must 
not despair, but try to improve by culture and 
education, until health and happiness prevail, 
instead of sickness and suffering and prema- 
ture death. 

Fcetal Development. — After conception the 
ovum remains quiet in the ovary for about five 
days. During its temporary abode here, im- 
portant preparations are being made for its 
reception in the cavity of the womb, where 
it will reside for the next nine months. The 
time occupied by the ovum in the ovary after 
conception and in its passage along the fallopian 
tubes until it reaches the uterus is from ten to 
fourteen days. At this stage it is so small that 
it is with great difficulty it can be found by the 
closest inspection with a powerful glass. Once 
in the uterus its growth is rapid, although seven 
days after its arrival there it is invisible to the 
naked eye. • 

By the fourteenth day there is a vesicle 
formed the size of a pea, and the embryo 
within it can be seen with the naked eye. Its 
weight at this period, including the investing 
membranes, etc., is about one grain. 



48 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

At twenty -one days it resembles an ant, is 
about three-eighths of an inch long, and weighs 
about four grains. 

At three months it is about four inches long, 
and weighs from one and a half to two ounces. 

At four and a half months it has increased 
in all directions ; the bones and muscles have 
become so far developed that the foetus moves 
them forcibly, and the prospective mother can 
usually feel its motions from this time forward. 
This is called the period of " quickening." 

At six months the nails of the fingers and 
toes may be distinguished. A little fine hair is 
found upon the head, the whole form of the 
child is distinct, its usual weight is about two 
pounds, and its length from ten to twelve 
inches. 

At seven months every part of the foetus is 
so far enlarged and so far matured that if born 
it might live to grow up, if properly cared for. 
Its weight is from three to four pounds, and its 
length from twelve to fourteen inches. 

From this time up to nine months, the usual 
period of birth, all the organs have acquired 
that degree of development and solidity requi- 
site for the perfect performance of their re- 
spective functions. Its weight is from seven to 
nine pounds, and length from eighteen to 
twenty-two inches. There are some cases where 



THE REPRODUCTION OF MAN. 49 

the foetus has been ill-nourished that do not 
weigh more than two or three pounds ; on the 
other hand, cases are not rare that w r eigh from 
twelve to fifteen pounds. The largest infant at 
birth, of which we have any w r ell-authenticated 
record, weighed 23| lbs. ; height, 30 inches ; breast 
measure, 24 inches ; round the head, 19 inches ; 
foot, 5J inches in length. The parents were 
very large people; the mother was 7 feet 9 
inches, and the father 7 feet 7 inches in height. 



CHAPTER IV. 
PREGNANCY. 

The Prospective Mother — Sacred Kesponsibility — 
Sexual Indulgence During Gestation — Its Ef- 
fect Upon the Offspring — Signs of Pregnancy — 
Cessation of the Menses— Morning Sickness — 
The Breasts — Quickening — Duration of Preg- 
nancy, etc. 



The generative function has for its special 
object the continuation of the species, and it is 
intimately connected with the highest order of 
organic and animal life. The woman who as- 
sumes the relation of mother takes upon herself 
the most sacred obligations of humanity. No 
period of her life is fraught with greater respon- 
sibilities than that of utero-gestation, or the 
time during which she carries the embryo in her 
womb. The influence which she exerts upon 
the future physical and, we may add, moral 
and intellectual condition of her offspring, 
during this eventful period, is of the greatest 
importance. Everything that disorders her 
system affects the child. If her blood is pure, 
the child is built up in purity. If she has an 

(50) 



PREGNANCY. 51 

abundant vitality, her child drinks from a full 
fountain. Indeed, there is no condition of the 
mother, mental or physical, which may not 
have its influence upon the child and the fu- 
ture welfare of society. No people understood 
this so well as the ancient Greeks, who sur- 
rounded the pregnant female with everything 
which was calculated to perfect mental and 
physical development: music, statuary, paint- 
ings, walks of art, and everything which ap- 
pealed to the higher senses. Women were taught 
that among their highest aspirations should be 
the bearing of perfect children. Therefore, if 
ever the laws of health are strictly obeyed by 
the expectant mother, the} 7 should be during 
the period of gestation. 

From these considerations comes the law 
that every woman by her supreme right to her- 
self has the right to decide whether and when 
she shall have a child. She is to carry it, to bear 
it, to educate it ; she is responsible to her child 
for its paternity and its development; and this 
responsibility carries with it the right of choice 
in all that affects it ; and if she would transmit 
to her offspring a sound and healthy constitu- 
tion, she is in duty bound to preserve her own 
health by living in accordance with the physio- 
logical laws of her own being. And while the 
direct physical influence of the father on the 



52 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

child ceases after impregnation, he is neverthe- 
less under the most sacred obligations to love 
and tenderly care for the would-be mother, and 
in all things endeavor to promote her happi- 
ness. In this way he may not only encourage 
and strengthen her, but contribute largely in 
giving to her child a healthy and harmonious 
development. During the state of pregnancy 
women are more sensitive, nervous, and ex- 
citable ; an unkind word or look, anymndiffer- 
ence or neglect shown, may produce a deep and 
lasting impression upon the future well-being 
of the child. Every husband ought at this 
time to manifest towards his wife the most 
thoughtful consideration, the kindest care and 
the most tender love. Looking at all the facts, 
then, it must be apparent to every intelligent 
person what the duty and conduct of parents 
should be during this eventful period when an 
immortal being is born into the world. 

Sexual Intercourse During Pregnancy. — 
Nature's rule, by instinct, makes it devolve 
upon the female to determine when the ap- 
proaches of the male are allowable. And no one 
acquainted with the wisdom of nature, in all 
her operations, will doubt that the prohibition 
of all sexual intercourse among the lower ani- 
mals during pregnancy must be for a wise and 
beneficent purpose. It is a law of all nature — 



PREGNANCY. 53 

a law that is said never to be violated even 
among savages, outside of Christendom — that 
there should be no sexual union during gesta- 
tion. "There is no male in the universe that 
abuses his mate in this way but man/' and no 
woman can submit to such abuse without in- 
jury to herself and danger to her offspring. 
Medical writers agree that the predisposition 
to that terrible disease, epilepsy, in children is 
caused by the unnatural excitement of the ani- 
mal passions during pregnancy. In the adult 
this disease is frequently developed by exces- 
sive venery, and the child" born with such a 
predisposition will be exceedingly liable to it 
in its early years. And it is well known to 
every physician that it is a frequent cause of 
miscarriage, chronic inflammation and ulcera- 
tion of the womb, with a variety of sympathetic 
nervous disorders that torment and harass the 
prospective mother. By the nervous exhaus- 
tion which it gives rise to, it is believed to effect 
the mental capacity of the offspring, and even 
to aid in developing the idiotic condition. We 
feel assured if parents could be made to realize 
the injurious effects which the abuse of the 
animal passions engenders, especially upon the 
mother and offspring during the period of ges- 
tation, they would be willing to restrain their 
passions and accept that which should com- 



54 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

mend itself to their reason and judgment, and 
which is in harmony with the Divine laws of 
their being. 

Signs of Pregnancy. — The limits of this 
work will not allow us to go into details on 
this subject ; we must be content with stating 
a few of the prominent changes which take 
place when the female becomes pregnant. 

Cessation of Menstruation. — One of the 
first circumstances which lead a female to sus- 
pect that she is pregnant is the non-appear- 
ance of the menses at the proper time, and 
if, at the second period, they are still absent, 
it is deemed almost conclusive. This is one of 
most unvarying as well as one of the earliest 
results of pregnancy. 

Morning Sickness. — Most women suffer 
from nausea and vomiting, especially on rising 
in the morning; hence it is termed " morning 
sickness.'' It may commence immediately 
after conception, but more generally it sets 
in about the fifth or sixth week, and ceases 
soon after the third month, although, in some 
cases, it continues during the whole period of 
gestation. This symptom, occurring at the 
regular time and in the usual manner, is 
valuable when combined with other symp- 
toms, but when taken alone is more or less 
doubtful. 



PREGNANCY. 55 

The Breasts. — About two months after con- 
ception the female usually feels an uneasy sen- 
sation of fulness, with tingling pains in the 
breasts and about the nipples. The breasts 
increase in size and firmness ; the areola (circle 
around the nipples) darkens, and the nipples 
enlarge and project more than previously. 
This change is often attended with some pain 
and tenderness. 

Quickening. — This term was applied to the 
mother's perception of the first movements of 
the foetus, under the erroneous belief that it 
was the first movement, as it then became alive 
or quick. We know now that the foetus is alive 
from the moment of conception. Quickening, 
then, or the first motion felt by the mother, 
usually occurs about four or four and a half 
months after conception. Moreover, two or 
three weeks before labor the uterus sinks lower 
in the abdomen, and the woman becomes 
smaller around the waist. This is a pretty 
sure sign of the near approach of labor. 

Duration of Pregnancy. — The term or 
duration of pregnancy is far from being abso- 
lutely fixed. It has been known to vary from 
four to six weeks. There have been cases in 
which a foetus of six months has been born, 
and lived. On the other hand, cases are not 
unusual in which gestation has been prolonged 



56 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

ten calendar months. Even domestic animals 
vary weeks in their periods. Hence, the 
deductions from such cases and from general 
calculation have led to fixing the term at ten 
lunar months, or two hundred and eighty days. 

There are three cardinal points from which, 
if they occur at the usual time, and in regular 
succession, a correct " reckoning " may be kept 
and the time of labor fixed with a good degree 
of certainty. 

First. The time of the last period of men- 
struation. 

Second. The commencement of morning sick- 
ness, six weeks after conception. 

Third. Quickening, at half-way, one hundred 
and thirty-five days from quickening to labor. 

The usual mode of calculation is from tw T o 
weeks after the last menstruation ; and the 
time so fixed is corrected by the time at which 
quickening occurs. In many instances this 
proves pretty correct; but the uncertainty as 
to the time of conception, with the variation in 
the time of quickening, renders the calculation 
no more than an approximate estimate. 



CHAPTER V. 

PRESERVATION OF HEALTH DURING 
PREGNANCY. 

Hygienic Precautions — Diet — Overeating — Tight 
Lacing — Bathing — Ventilation — Exercise— Kest 
— Sleep, etc. 



The pregnant female should observe the 
greatest simplicity in regard to diet. Her food 
should be simple, but nutritious ; that most 
consistent with health is composed of farina- 
ceous grains, fresh ripe fruits, and vegetables. 
Among the wholesome fruits are apples, pears, 
peaches, plums, grapes, strawberries, black- 
berries, raspberries, melons, bananas, oranges, 
nuts, etc. ; of vegetables, potatoes, beans, peas, 
beets, tomatoes, egg-plants, asparagus, cabbage, 
squash, salad, etc. These furnish abundant 
aliment of agreeable flavor, sufficient for every 
reasonable desire. The flesh of animals, if 
eaten at all, should be indulged in very spar- 
ingly. We fully believe that all persons would 
be better off without the use of animal food, 
and especially would we advise the woman who 
has the joys of a mother in prospect to avoid 

(57) 



58 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

it. The flesh of dead animals is not the kind 
of food with which to build up the delicate 
tissues of the unborn infant, nor yet to preserve 
the health of its mother. Pregnant women 
who indulge in the use of unwholesome food 
cannot maintain good health, and such persons 
cannot supply suitable nourishment for the 
foetus in utero. False notions in regard to the 
amount of food required during this eventful 
period often lead to overeating and consequent 
derangement of the digestive organs. Little or 
no extra food is necessary to sustain the simple 
growth of the foetus, whose gain in weight is 
only about half an ounce per day. 

As a beverage, pure fresh water and milk 
are preferable to everything else. All alcoholic 
beverages should be scrupulously avoided. Even 
tea and coffee are stimulants that cause nervous 
exhaustion, and it will be better to leave them 
out of the bill of fare. 

Bathing. — Of the importance of personal 
cleanliness and frequent bathing it is hardly 
necessary to speak. It has been a necessity of 
the human race from its creation to the present 
time; without it man is unfitted for social 
equality. No amount of personal beauty in 
features, figure or complexion can compensate 
for a want of cleanliness. It enhances every 
charm, and creates new ones peculiar to itself. 



HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY. 59 

In its relation to health, frequent ablutions 
are of the utmost importance, as must be evi- 
dent from a knowledge of the structure and 
functions of the skin. This membrane, " like 
a seamless mantle," invests the entire body. It 
is supplied with minute glands which secrete 
the perspiration. Under ordinary circum- 
stances about two pounds of perspiration are 
secreted and thrown off by the skin daily, al- 
though this amount may be largely increased 
by exercise, etc. Besides this saline aqueous 
matter, the skin is continually casting off in 
minute, powdery scales the old, worn-out cuticle, 
and this, together with the worn-off particles of 
clothing, dust, etc., adheres to the surface of the 
body, mingles with the perspiration and forms 
a thin, dirty coat on the skin. Now, unless 
this be daily removed by friction and washing, 
the " pores " become choked, and the functions 
of the skin seriously interrupted. Therefore, 
all who would preserve their health and per- 
sonal beauty should bathe regularly three or 
four times a week, and frequently apply the 
flesh-brush in the meantime. 

Tight Dressing. — So much has been said 
on the subject of dress and tight lacing, that it 
would seem almost superfluous to speak of it 
here; and yet nine-tenths of the fashionable 
ladies at the present time dress in such a mar,- 



60 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

ner as to compress important internal organs 
and seriously interfere with their vital func- 
tions. There are still those who believe in the 
traditional notion that the Creator has made a 
great mistake in the construction of woman by 
making her waist entirely too large, and other 
parts of her body much too small. Hence 
they have undertaken to improve on His 
handiwork by reducing the size of the waist 
to make it conform with their ideas of what 
constitutes modern female beauty. They effect 
this by means of whalebones, steel plates and 
strong bands, arranged in such a manner as to 
encircle the chest and reduce it to the proper 
dimensions. They have even taken out patents 
on their novel devices for this purpose, and, if 
they could, would no doubt reconstruct and re- 
model the whole human form to suit their 
fancy. A good idea of what their ideal figure 
would be like may be inferred by an inspection 
of some of the dressed models on exhibition in 
the windows of some fashionable dressmakers. 
Singular perversion of taste ! wonderful and 
all-powerful influence of fashion ! which can 
induce so many intelligent beings to suffer 
torture like savages, for the purpose of distort- 
ing their bodies, and bringing them into those 
artificial shapes which civilized nations denom- 
inate genteel and graceful. If women were the 



HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY. 61 

only sufferers from these cruel practices the sin 
would not be so great; but their posterity par- 
ticipate deeply in the consequences which re- 
sult from their criminal perversity. If a poodle 
or pet monkey were put into corsets and stays, 
and their bodies compressed out of shape, like 
some of our females, the perpetrator, if discov- 
ered, would in all probability be indicted for 
cruelty to animals; but when the same bar- 
barity is practiced on human beings, it is toler- 
ated because considered genteel and fashionable. 

When will people learn that they cannot 
violate the natural physiological laws in the 
slightest degree without having to suffer the 
penalty ? Even compressing the feet with tight 
shoes or wearing tightly-fitting gloves is a 
frequent c#use of headaches and deformities 
which are neither ornamental nor convenient. 
The pregnant female, then, of all others, should 
dress loosely, without compressing any part of 
the body. All corsets and belts must be aban- 
doned, and tight lacing, by impeding the circu- 
lation and preventing the necessary expansion 
of the abdomen, may cause incalculable injury 
to both mother and child. Such methods of 
dressing often cause miscarriage, uterine dis- 
placements, heart diseases, and not infrequently 
malpositions and often deformity of the foetus. 

Air and Exercise. — Foremost among the 



62 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

conditions of health is the breathing of pure 
fresh air and the taking of suitable exercise. 
The first of these is of vital import#ice. A 
person may go without food for weeks, or re- 
main in a state of inactivity for months, and 
yet enjoy comparatively good health ; but to 
be deprived of atmospheric air for a single 
moment endangers the very life of the indi- 
vidual ; indeed, it is questionable whether such 
a person can live after having been totally de- 
prived of air for more than five minutes, as 
shown in cases of drowning, where all air has 
been excluded. 

There is scarcely a subject in regard to the 
preservation of health of greater importance 
than the one under consideration. When we 
reflect that the impure or venous blood is changed 
or purified in the lungs by the action of the 
air we breathe, it follows, as a matter of great 
importance, that this element should be per- 
fectly pure. The air is composed of one part 
oxygen and four parts nitrogen, and a small 
quantity of carbonic acid. The most essential 
part of this life-giving element is the oxygen 
it contains, and any diminution or change in 
this renders the atmosphere unfit to breathe. 
Now, the quality and purity of the air are 
affected by every " breath we take," the quan- 
tity of oxygen is diminished, and the carbonic 



HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY. 63 

acid increased, while the ni^pogen remains 
about the same. Not all the air taken into 
the lungs is expelled by that organ; a part of 
the oxygen is retained in the blood, and car- 
bonic acid given out in its stead. Air that has 
been once respired contains eight and a half 
per cent, of carbonic acid ; hence, when several 
persons are crowded into a close room the 
atmosphere soon becomes so vitiated by an 
excess of carbonic acid and the excretions from 
the body as to be utterly unfit for respiration. 
Such an atmosphere poisons the very fountain 
of life and sows the seeds of pestilence and 
disease. 

Pure fresh air, then, is absolutely necessary 
for purifying the blood in the lungs. Every 
part of the dwelling in which we reside should 
be supplied with pure fresh air. Especially 
should the sleeping-room be so ventilated that 
the air in it will be as pure in the morning as 
it was when entering in the evening. And if 
such were the case there would be far less suf- 
fering from headaches, dizziness, want of appe- 
tite, and a host of nervous diseases that too often 
arise from sleeping in ill- ventilated apartments. 
By day and by night, then, at all times and in 
all places, sleeping and waking, we should 
have pure air and breathe it plentifully. 

Exercise. — As all organs of the body depend 
upon exercise for a healthy development, it 



64 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

follows as a natural sequence that exercise is 
one of the most important conditions in the 
preservation of health. Active useful labor, 
or active exercise of some kind, is indispen- 
sable for physical development, health and 
happiness. The kind of exercise needed is 
varied employments, varied amusements, at- 
tractive industry, pleasant society and the 
gratification of the natural talents. It should 
be such as to interest the mind and keep the 
body in more or less constant motion. Out- 
door exercise and open-air sports are, of all • 
others, beneficial to health, and especially to 
the pregnant female. But lifting heavy weights, 
making vigorous exertion, riding upon horse- 
back or in carriages driven rapidly over rough 
roads, should be carefully avoided. Too severe 
labor or exercise cannot fail to have an injuri- 
ous effect upon both mother and child ; on the 
other hand, too great indulgence in ease or a 
lack of bodily exercise cannot fail to result in- 
juriously. 

Persons pursuing a business that necessitates 
sedentary habits or the use of only a few of 
their muscles should devote a part of each 
day to exercising those muscles that are not 
active during labor. Brain workers require 
an abundance of exercise, so as to keep up a 
proper circulation throughout the body and to 
impart vigor to all the various organs. 



HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY. 65 

The mental faculties also require suitable 
exercise for their development. All observa- 
tion and philosophy show that ' intellectual 
pursuits are not only compatible with, but 
actually tend to promote physical health and 
long life. If we diligently acquire knowledge, 
and continue to exercise the memory, we will 
retain the intellectual faculties to* old age, when 
the poor physical body will be tottering on the 
brink of the grave. The same is true of the 
affections ; if they are exercised in the per- 
formance of good, noble, generous acts, they 
will grow stronger from day to day, and we 
shall come to realize that we have laid up a 
treasure far more valuable and enduring than 
silver or gold. 

We would impress it upon the minds of all 
parents that the more of health and happiness 
enjoyed by mothers during the period of ges- 
tation, the more, other things being equal, 
will their children enjoy these precious gifts 
throughout the whole period of their lives. 

Rest and Sleep. — Rest, and especially the 
rest of sleep, is indispensable for the preser- 
vation of health. The brain and all the 
organs of the body require rest. It is a neces- 
sity of the system and must be periodically 
indulged in. After twelve or sixteen hours of 
waking and exercise, a sense of fatigue is ex- 



66 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

perienced which demands repose and repara- 
tion of the vital powers. Most persons require 
from six to eight hours of sleep daily, and this 
amount cannot be materially diminished with- 
out injury to the health. As a general rule, 
the amount necessary to refresh the system is 
in proportion to the amount of bodily and 
mental exertion made by the individual. 

During sleep the respiration and pulse are 
both diminished in frequency, and the tem- 
perature of the body is reduced about 1 J° from 
its normal standard. Hence the propriety of 
covering the body during a nap in the day- 
time, even in warm weather. Again, during 
sleep, the heart beats less frequently by from 
eight to ten strokes per minute; this is when 
the heart gets its rest : obliged to continue in 
action all the while, it takes advantage of the 
situation during repose, and works slower, so 
as to recuperate its vital powers. Nothing ex- 
hausts and prostrates quicker than the loss 
of sleep; therefore, intense study, late hours, 
night-watching, mental excitement, and the 
like, are injurious, and should be avoided as 
much as possible. The use of tea, coffee and 
narcotic stimulants is a frequent cause of 
wakefulness and inability to sleep; hence, 
persons suffering in this manner should avoid 
all such things. 



CHAPTER VI. 
DISEASES INCIDENT TO PREGNANCY. 

Morning Sickness —Heartburn — Waterbrash — Head- 
ache — Piles — Pruritis Vulva — Incontinence of 
Urine — Constipation — Varicose Veins — Swelling 
of the Feet— Pain in the Side. 



Although pregnancy is, strictly speaking, a 
natural physiological process, it borders so 
closely on the morbid state that it is a difficult 
matter to draw the boundary line between 
them. In consequence of the latent diseases 
which have been handed down to us by our 
predecessors, and the unnatural and artificial 
lives we lead, it is often attended with devia- 
tions from health which it may be necessary 
to briefly notice here for the benefit of those 
w r ho are interested in the subject. Hence, in 
the present chapter w r e shall refer to the dis- 
orders incident to pregnancy as altered and not 
as morbid conditions of the system. And, by 
the way, we may here remark that women of 
strictly temperate as w 7 ell as active habits 
suffer far less from these organic changes than 
do those of opposite habits. And it is also in- 

(67) 



68 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

teresting to know that all the functional de- 
rangements resulting from a state of pregnancy 
disappear with or after parturition. 

Nausea and Vomiting. — Prominent among 
the organic sympathies excited by the preg- 
nant state are nausea and vomiting, and from 
the time at which the attacks occur it has been 
termed " morning sickness." It usually begins 
about six weeks after conception, and con- 
tinues with more or less violence for three or 
four months, when it gradually subsides. In 
some instances nausea and vomiting com- 
mence soon after conception and continue 
throughout the whole period of gestation. It 
mostly takes place as soon as the patient rises 
from bed in the morning, and often continues 
to harass her for two or three hours. After 
considerable straining and gagging, a mouth- 
ful of tough mucus is thrown up, which is often 
very sour. Food is rarely ejected, but the 
patient is annoyed by spitting of saliva, which 
at times is very profuse, and attended with 
" heartburn" and " waterbrash." In some 
cases, however, the irritability is so great that 
all food is immediately thrown up after being 
taken, and the patient suffers from a two-fold 
cause — gastric irritation and want of nutrition. 

In the treatment of some rare cases it is 
sometimes necessary to nourish the patient by 
nutrient injections. 



DISEASES INCIDENT TO PREGNANCY. 69 

Heartburn and Waterbrash. — This is 
another form of gastric derangement from 
which, many women suffer during utero-gesta- 
tion. It may occur at a very early period, and 
even be amongst the first symptoms by which 
the patient will recognize her condition. This 
form of disturbance is attended w r ith pain and 
heat in the stomach extending upward, some- 
times to the throat, with occasional eructations 
of very sour or bitter fluid, which is sometimes 
hot and so acrid as to excoriate the throat and 
mouth. The fluids evacuated may be of a 
bilious character, or clear, tasteless and watery 
— hence the popular name" waterbrash." Eat- 
ing seems to aggravate all these symptoms. 

We need hardly add that a judicious diet 
should be strictly observed. Lemon juice taken 
in small quantities will be found beneficial in 
some cases. Sour or sub-sour apples and other 
fruits are also efficacious. 

Headache. — Next to disturbance of the 
stomach, headache is probably the most com- 
mon complaint of pregnant women. Some- 
times as early as the second week after 
conception a strange sensation of fulness or 
heaviness is felt in the head, attended with 
dulness and a disinclination to active employ- 
ment. After stooping there is blindness, with 
flashes or sparks before the eyes ; disposition to 



70 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

fall forward when stooping; headache with feel- 
ing of weight on top of the head ; palpitation 
of the heart, and general nervousness. The 
pain may be dull or acute, commencing over 
the eyebrow and extending to the entire head, 
with but few intervals of ease. Sometimes 
there is a fastidious state of the stomach with 
variable appetite; the smell of food while 
cooking often sickens the patient, and articles 
of diet that used to agree with her are now 
disgusting. These likes and dislikes often con- 
tinue through the whole term of gestation. 

Hemorrhoids or Piles. — The term hem- 
orrhoids is used to designate a number of small 
well-defined tumors situated around the verge 
of the anus. They have been divided into 
external and internal, according as they are de- 
veloped without or within the rectum. Again, 
where there is no discharge from them, they 
are called " blind piles," and when the con- 
trary is the case " open or bleeding piles." 
They are a source of great suffering to females 
during pregnancy, and if not in first are in 
subsequent cases. 

Pruritus Vulva. — This is a not infrequent 
accompaniment of pregnancy, and forms one 
of the most distressing disorders to which a 
female in this condition is liable. It consists 
of an incessant and intolerable itching of the 



DISEASES INCIDENT TO PREGNANCY. 71 

vulva or private parts. In almost every case 
of pregnancy there is an increase in the secre- 
tions of these parts, and sometimes it is very 
acrid and causes this irritation. The inner 
surface of the labia and of adjacent parts is 
often covered with aphthse similar to the thrush 
of infants. From the parts affected a vitiated 
watery discharge takes place, attended w T ith 
the most intense itching, w r hich greatly dis- 
tresses the patient. 

Frequent ablutions with hot water are very 
beneficial. Bathing the parts with a strong 
solution of Borax is also very useful in allay- 
ing the itching. These failing, take Hyposul- 
phite of Soda, half an ounce; Camphor Water 
eight ounces, mix, and use it as a wash three 
or four times a day. 

Incontinence of Urine. — This very dis- 
tressing complaint may occur at any time dur- 
ing pregnancy, though perhaps it is more 
common during the earlier months. The pa % - 
tient is tormented with a constant desire to 
pass water, and if this desire is not immedi- 
ately gratified it is discharged involuntarily. 
The urine is frequently very acrid and often 
has a strong odor. 

Constipation. — This is a very common at- 
tendant upon pregnancy. The pressure of the 
gravid uterus on the lower portion of the 



72 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

bowels interferes with their normal action and 
sometimes causes obstinate and prolonged con- 
stipation. Almost all the sympathetic affections 
of pregnancy are aggravated by this condition ; 
it induces general uneasiness, nervous excite- 
ment, loss of appetite, restless nights and er- 
ratic pains in the abdomen. 

Exercise, a diet composed chiefly of fruits 
and vegetables, and drinking largely of cold 
water will generally relieve this difficulty. 

Varicose Veins. — This condition of the 
veins is not often met with in first pregnancy, 
but if it is, even in a trivial degree, it grad- 
ually increases in severity with every succeed- 
ing pregnancy. 

The enlarged veins are generally superficial 
and may be confined to one or both limbs. At 
first they assume a reddish hue, but afterwards 
a bluish or leaden color, and the larger ones 
become very much knotted; they get larger 
^hen the patient stands on her feet or suffers the 
limbs to hang down. The swelling diminishes 
when she has assumed a horizontal position. 

This affection is not dangerous, and when 
moderate is not painful, but, if it continues to 
increase, the coats of the vessels may give way, 
and a dangerous hemorrhage follow. 

Swelling of the Feet. — During the latter 
months of gestation some women are troubled 



DISEASES INCIDENT TO PREGNANCY. 73 

with swelling of the lower extremities, increas- 
ing towards evening, and occasioning a certain 
amount of inconvenience. The extent of the 
swelling varies much ; it may be confined to 
the feet and legs, or it may involve the thighs. 
In some cases the anasarca is still more gene- 
ral, and we find the upper part of the body, 
the hands and the face oedematous. The effu- 
sion is manifestly the result of pressure upon 
the veins, impeding the circulation. 

Pain in the Side. — Women are often trou- 
bled in the latter months of pregnancy with 
pain in the right side. It usually comes on 
about the sixth month and leaves after the 
beginning of the eighth month. The pain is 
of a deep-seated aching character in the right 
side under the ribs. The patient cannot sit 
long at a time, and mostly finds relief by lying 
down. Short women, particularly in their 
first pregnancies, are most likely to suffer in 
this way. 

Like most of the disorders enumerated in 
this chapter, and which are developed by a 
state of pregnancy, this one disappears after 
parturition. 



CHAPTER VII. 
ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FCETICIDE. 

Threatened Miscarriage — Criminal Abortion — Meth- 
ods of Procuring — Professional Abortionists — 
Cause and Cure of the Crime. 



By abortion is meant the expulsion of the 
foetus or embryo from the womb before it 
is able to live separately from the mother. 
This accident may occur at any period of ges- 
tation, but is most frequent at the third month. 
The liability is increased at such times as 
correspond to a menstrual period. And when 
it has once taken place the woman is more 
liable to miscarry again. If it takes place 
after the sixth month it is called premature 
labor. 

It is always an " untoward event/' and may 
exert the most unfavorable influence upon the 
constitution of the female, blasting the fairest 
promise of health, and ofttimes laying the 
foundation for fatal disease. 

Threatened Miscarriage. — The symptoms 
of threatened miscarriage are : A sense of 

(74) 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FOETICIDE. 75 

uneasiness, languor, with aching or pain in the 
back, followed by bearing-down pains in the 
pelvic region, with slight discharge of mucus 
or blood from the vagina, The pains extend 
around the loins to the abdomen and down 
the thighs, recurring at regular intervals, and 
increasing in strength and frequency until the 
ovum or foetus is expelled. 

The treatment must vary according to the 
condition of the patient and the cause giving 
rise to it. In all cases the horizontal position 
and perfect quietude are indispensable. 

Having briefly considered abortion as it 
occurs incidentally, we come to speak of an- 
other phase of the subject that ought to engage 
the serious attention of every Christian man 
and woman throughout the broad land. We 
refer to 

Criminal Abortion, Fceticide. — Its Cause 
and Cure. — The increasing frequency of this 
practice, for the purpose of getting rid of the 
product of conception and thus preventing 
the birth of a living child, exists to an alarm- 
ing extent in the cities and villages, and even 
in country places. Few are aware of the 
extent to which this crime prevails in our 
country ; even physicians are ignorant of a 
majority of the cases that occur among their 
patrons, for it is generally the services of some 



76 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

unprincipled " doctor/' who has a private repu- 
tation in this kind of business, that are sought 
after, instead of the regular family physician. 
After the crime has been committed the family 
physician is often called in to, take charge 
of the case, not knowing what was the primary 
cause of the patients' illness, as they will inva- 
riably try to conceal this from their friends. 
In our professional career we have been called 
upon to take charge of many such cases, and 
have spent many anxious hours at the bedside 
of these victims, and can point to individuals 
whose whole life thereafter has been one of 
continual suffering from impaired health, to be 
attributed to this cause. When the subject 
of abortion escapes immediate death, some 
form of womb disease is almost certain to fol- 
low sooner or later; the few who do escape 
may deem themselves especially fortunate. 
Thousands of women, wives and mothers in 
the higher walks of life, risk or actually sacri- 
fice their lives every year by this unnatural 
crime, their most intimate friends being unin- 
formed and unsuspicious as to the real cause 
of their death. 

It seems almost incredible that parents, 
especially mothers, can so far forget their ma- 
ternal love and moral responsibility as to risk 
their own lives in wilfully seeking the destruc- 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FCETICIDE. 77 

tion of their unborn offspring. We may for- 
give " the poor, trembling victim of some vile 
man's lust, who, after having been deserted by 
a man-monster who can forget his own child 
and the agony of the betrayed mother, seeks 
thus to hide her shame and escape a lifetime 
of disgrace and contempt, which is sure to be 
heaped upon her even by her own sex, while 
her betrayer is respected and even beloved by 
professedly virtuous women ; " but how are we 
to reconcile the thought of married women 
and mothers who seek the destruction of their 
unborn children ? Yet, in the prevalent un- 
natural condition of societj^ and the diseased 
state of men and women, morally and physi- 
cally, it has become a custom of shocking fre- 
quency. 

There are those w 7 ho affect to believe that 
it is a far less crime to destroy a child in the 
embryo state than after the period of quicken- 
ing ; that at this stage of development it is 
feeble, without intellect and incapable of an 
independent existence ; hence, being of so little 
importance, it is no crime to destroy it. This 
kind of philosophy would justify the taking of 
life under almost any circumstances, the kill- 
ing of delicate or sickly children, or $ven the 
aged and infirm. It is closly allied to that 
savage philosophy which justifies the destruc- 



78 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

tion of feeble infants or old, worn-out fathers 
and mothers on account of their helpless con- 
dition. Such a belief has neither reason nor 
common sense to commend its approval. It is 
well known that the foetus in utero has life, 
and even moves — though it may not be able to 
make its movements felt — long before quick- 
ening, and that its destruction at any time 
after conception is foetal murder, and a viola- 
tion of the Divine command, which says, 
" Thou shall not kill." 

It is high time the good people of our 
country fully realized the moral degradation 
and sinfulness of this crime, which now 
threatens the very existence of our race. The 
practice is not confined to the lower classes of 
society, but is found in every station of life — 
among the wealthy, the poor, the professed 
Christians, the educated and the ignorant — who 
systematically procure the destruction of their 
embryo offspring. In nearly all cases they are 
actuated by selfish motives, the love of ease, 
and the desire to evade the duties and cares of 
a family. 

Methods of Procuring Abortion. — There 
are various methods of procuring abortion, and 
as this j$ in all cases a violent and unnatural 
process, it is always attended with danger. 
Sometimes it is effected by means of potent 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FOETICIDE. 79 

drugs, the mother often being fatally poisoned 
in the effort to expel the embryo or foetus. 
These drugs are extensively advertised in 
newspapers, secret circulars, etc. They are 
paraded before the public as " Female Pills," 
"Monthly Regulators," etc., etc. Sometimes 
the advertisements are so adroitly worded under 
a caution as to convey the precise information 
needed ; for example, the female will be ad- 
vised not to take the " pills " if she is in the 
" family way," as they will be sure to "bring 
on a miscarriage." This is a cunningly devised 
trick to catch the hungry and thirsty. 

But the most common method of accom- 
plishing this desired result is by means of a 
surgical operation, executed by professional 
abortionists. These so-called " doctors " can be 
found in all the cities and towns of any size 
throughout the country, ready at any time to 
commit a base murder for the paltry sum of 
from five to twenty dollars — " blood money." 
The wily victim, closely veiled, wends her way 
to the place and is ushered into a private room ; 
here she contracts with a lewd, wicked person to 
kill her little babe for a stipulated sum ; after 
the operation she repairs to a " boarding house," 
where she is taken care of by an accomplice 
until " she is all right," or is sent home in a 
coffin. In the latter event, a certificate is given, 



80 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

signed by the " doctor/ 7 stating that Mrs. 

died from " inflammation of the bowels ;" 
whereas she died from puerperal peritonitis 
superinduced by malpractice by this self-same 
"doctor." In other cases the woman goes 
direct to her home after the operation, and is 
treated by the family physician, who seldom 
finds out what caused the miscarriage. 

There are those who would fain make light 
of this crime by attempting to convince them- 
selves and others that it is a trifling offense, 
and an affair of their own. Such a mode of 
reasoning, if it can be called such, is too super- 
ficial to warrant a reply. The foetus in utero 
is a living human being, and as such is de- 
serving of the same care and protection as if 
it were born and lying by the mother's side. 
The fact that it is feeble and insignificant does 
not alter the case. The newly born infant is 
small and helpless compared with a man or a 
woman, which it would soon become if properly 
cared for. And low, indeed, must be the hus- 
band or wife who will permit the love of 
pleasure, or of ease, or of selfish gratification, to 
so gain possession of their moral instinct as to 
lead them to seek the destruction of their.un- 
born babe. 

" Of all the sins," says Dr. Gardiner, " physi- 
cal and moral, against man and God, I know 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FOETICIDE. 81 

of none so utterly to be condemned as the very 
common one of the destruction of the babe 
while yet in the womb of the mother. So 
utterly repugnant is it that I can scarcely ex- 
press the loathing with which I approach the 
subject ! Murder in cold blood, without cause, 
of an unborn child, one's nearest relative ; in 
fact, part of one's very being, actually having 
not only one's blood in its being, but that blood 
momentarily interchanging ! Good God ! — does 
it seem possible that such depravity can exist 
in a parent's breast — in a mother's heart ?" 

It is a crime against humanity which should 
call forth the condemnation of all generous- 
hearted and loving Christian people. To the 
credit of the medical profession, be it said, is 
due, in a great measure, the present state of 
public sentiment in regard to this matter. 
Physicans of all schools have condemned it 
through the press and from the platform, while 
a few pulpit orators have proclaimed against it 
as a most degrading sin. A healthy, happy 
child is the dearest treasure and the greatest 
blessing that can come to two loving hearts. 
It must be a terrible necessity that would make 
any.person, fit to have a child, take means to 
destroy it. 

The Cause and Cure of the Crime. — And 
now, my humane brother and sister, w^hat are 



82 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

the cause and cure of this great social evil ? To 
the first question we answer, it is the abuse of 
the sexual function. A woman bears the blame 
of destroying her infant in embryo, but not a 
word is said of the necessity for her doing this, 
being the result of brutish, yea, w r orse than 
brutish, indulgence on the part of her husband, 
whose unnatural and depraved sexual de- 
mands make it necessary for her, time and 
again, to commit this crime; and her hus- 
band allows her to take the risk of her life 
and incalculable suffering, bodily and mental, 
rather than say to himself, " this must not be; 
I am the principal cause of all this trouble, 
suffering, sin and crime. I am unworthy the 
name of husband ; I am untrue to the vows I 
made in marriage to love and protect; I will 
cease to be the cause of or a participant in 
this crime, by conforming my sexual demands 
to nature's requirements, which are for the 
procreation of offspring, and for that only." 
Then, where both parties are weak, let the 
stronger sustain the weaker. 1 

We hear it said that " too few children are 
being born nowadays." The fact is there are 
far too many, of the kind they are — not. too 
few. If every married pair reared two or four 
well-born, well-ordered children, the world would 
be well on its way to the millennium. It is 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FCETICIDE. 83 

cursed with the number that are simply and 
wholly the result of lust and unbridled passions 
of men and women; and as the stream does not 
rise higher than its source, it is surging on 
with ever accumulating violence, the outcome 
of which is murder, rape, incest and the whole 
catalogue of crimes we see in our midst. Look 
on the faces of the hundreds of children we 
meet in the schoolrooms — everywhere. Are 
joy, love and peace seen on their countenances? 
No ; but the reflections of unwilling maternity, 
of filling murder, of sorrows too deep to be 
written on any other tablet than the human 
face and soul, are displayed there for those 
whose eyes have been opened and whose souls 
are awakened to the cause as well as to the 
effect of these horrors the tithe of which has 
not been computed, much less ttld. How 
unevenly, too, the burden of sin and suffering 
is divided between the guilty pair who will- 
ingly risk everything for the momentary grati- 
fication of a passion which only love and desire 
for children redeems from lust. 

If the sexual nature was fairly understood 
and rightly used there would be fewer ill- 
assorted marriages, to say nothing of those 
who were right at the start, but became com- 
pletely demoralized and debauched by over- 
indulgence; each becoming unloving, di§- 



84 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

eased, unhappy, disappointed in everything 
which had been intended to make married 
life the holy thing it should be, simply by 
allowing the animal desires to subordinate 
everything else — self-respect, conscience and 
even the strongest element of the living organ- 
ism — self-preservation. If there is anything to 
be pitied in this world it is the subject of re- 
peated unwilling maternities ; no man can 
conceive the depths of desperation and mental 
and physical wretchedness that follow in their 
train. It is so hopeless, so unending; only 
death, and that is not a desirable alternative, 
ends the great responsibility of this burden 
(for burden it must be called when unwill- 
ingly borne) in this life ; eternity only can 
answer for the future. When we consider 
that it requires great courage or great cow- 
ardice on the part of man to deliberately take 
his own life — a thing we believe is rarely done 
in a perfectly sane condition — we may estimate 
the desperation or courage or madness that 
overcomes a woman's fear of death when she 
essays to destroy a part of her being, risking 
the whole. Good, conscientious women, who 
would not have been capable of destroying the 
smallest creeping thing before this unnatural 
state of things was brought about, find them- 
selves in a state of wretchedness to which 



ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, FOETICIDE. 85 

death is preferable instead of their elysian 
dreams of wedded love; they yielded their 
scruples till they were no more, the vice once 
horrid to them became a thing to be desired, 
an alternative to welcome. With repeated sins, 
and an ever ready accomplice — the one nearest 
to her in relationship and worldly interest — 
her judgment becomes so impaired that she 
loses all sense of moral obligation ; the sin 
not being in the act of committing abortion so 
much as in the sinful life of indulgence which 
has led to the result. 

And now, what is the remedy for this evil ? 
There is one that is natural, simple and effect- 
ual, as we have already intimated; now we 
will state briefly and distinctly what it is: 
stop the producing cause. The man and 
and woman who do not wish to have children 
must keep apart. This is the only safe and 
right way to avoid unwilling maternity. We 
can see no reason why any one should be com- 
pelled to bear children who wishes to avoid 
them. Two young persons who have flirted 
and danced together, and passed through a 
fashionable courtship, then stood up before a 
priest, in white kid gloves and satin, sur- 
rounded by evergreens and orange blossoms, 
and vowed eternal love and fidelity to each 
other, have no right to regard such a pledge 



86 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

as a license for sexual indulgence. So long as 
there is licensed lust in marriage there will be 
criminal abortion ; we can never cultivate the 
moral sense in woman while she is degraded 
in this highest element of her being. " The 
Divine law of continence is not annulled by 
any usage or enactment of human framing ; 
and no formula pronounced by magistrate or 
clergy, no mutual covenant between partners 
in a sin, avails to make uncleanness holy." In 
righteousness and innocence will the remedy 
for all humanity's ills be found, and if we will 
cease to do evil and learn to do well, then will 
the conflict be all the more easily won ; but do 
not make the mistake so many thousands have 
done in opening the battle when it is too late. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
LABOR— PARTURITION. 

Preliminary Preparations — Making the Bed — Posi- 
tion for Delivery — Premonitory Symptoms — Cha- 
racter of the Pains — The After birth. 



It is not intended to give a minute descrip- 
tion of the process or management of labor on 
this occasion, as no one but a qualified physi- 
cian would have the temerity to take charge of 
such a case, unless placed under very peculiar 
circumstances. A few suggestions to govern 
the nurse or attendant until the arrival of the 
physician are, therefore, all that will be aimed 
at here. 

The woman who has the joys of a mother in 
prospect will see that everything necessary for 
the occasion is at hand, so that all confusion 
may be avoided when that interesting period 
arrives. The room she is to occupy should be 
in readiness, and, where there can be a choice, 
it should be large and airy, on the sunny side 
of the house, and as retired as possible. In 

(87) 



88 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

winter the temperature should be about 65° 
F. during labor, and 70° afterwards. 

To Prepare the Bed. — When labor has 
fairly commenced, the bed should be prepared, 
which is done by placing a square of oil-cloth 
or a gum-blanket over the mattress at that 
part of the bed which will be occupied by the 
patient's hips; over this the under sheet is 
spread, and upon these, two or three sheets 
folded square, on which the patient is to lie. 
After the labor is over, these folded sheets 
should be removed, but the oil-cloth is allowed 
to remain. If the patient's bowels have not 
been freely evacuated within twelve hours of 
the onset of labor, they should be freed by a 
thorough injection. 

Position for Delivery. — If now the pains 
are forcing and labor advancing, the patient 
should undress and go to bed. The position 
for delivery is on the left side, the hips being 
close to the edge of the bed, and the knees 
drawn up towards the abdomen. The night- 
dress should be tucked up underneath her, be- 
yond the hips, to prevent soiling; a pillow 
placed between the knees ; and she may be al- 
lowed to grasp the hand of an attendant. 

This is the most natural position for the pa- 
tient to assume during labor ; and, while it is 
not necessary to remain in the one position all 



LABOR — PARTURITION. 89 

the time, when the infant's head is low down 
and distending the soft parts, she should make 
no material change until after labor is com- 
pleted. 

Labor, or parturition, completes the grand 
function of reproduction; and, as stated in a 
previous chapter, it takes place about two hun- 
dred and seventy days afte r conception. It is a 
natural physiological process, and among the 
savage tribes it is attended with very little pain 
or sickness ; but in civilized society, where the 
people are out of correspondence with the Di- 
vine order, it is often protracted, and attended 
with a great amount of suffering. 

Premonitory Symptoms. — There are a few 
premonitory symptoms which indicate the ap- 
proach of labor, such as nervous trembling, de- 
pression of spirits, looseness of the bowels, fre- 
quent inclination to pass urine, and a slight 
discharge of reddish mucus from the vagina. 
The pains generally commence in the lower 
part of the abdomen, and are then felt in the 
back, extending gradually to the front. They 
recur at regular intervals, and increase in force 
and frequency. 

During the early stage they are of a " cutting 
or grinding " character, causing an outcry on 
the part of the patient. But as labor advances 
they change to " bearing-down or forcing " 



90 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

pains, which compel the patient to suspend 
her breath and suppress the outcry. From this 
time forward the pains become more frequent; 
they succeed each other so quickly that a new 
one commences before the former has quite ter- 
minated. At length the force conquers all re- 
sistance, and the head is expelled; after this 
there is a short interval of rest, when the uter- 
ine power is again exerted to expel the body of 
the child. 

This part of the labor being accomplished, a 
sense of great relief follows, to the inexpressible 
joy of the mother. 

Delivery of the After-birth. — An inter- 
val of half an hour, more or less, now elapses 
before the uterus again contracts to expel the 
after-birth, and by one or two pains its connec- 
tion is severed with the uterus, and the labor 
is completed. Sometimes, however, the after- 
birth does not come away for several hours, 
unless removed by some one competent to do 
so ; it is a delicate operation, and should not 
be undertaken by any one not skilled in the art. 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 

A Dependent Creature — The Nurse ; Qualifications 
of; Duties of — Reception of the Infant at 
Birth — Cutting the Cord — How to Wash the 
Baby — How to Dress the Xayel — How to Dress 
the Baby — The Diaper — Care of the Mother — 
State of the Bowels — The Lochia — Vaginae In- 
jections — Duration of Confinements. 



A new-born infant is said to be the most 
dependent creature in all the world ; naked, 
helpless and unable to procure food for the 
sustenance of life, at the same time it is the 
most wonderful and complex piece of machin- 
ery in all of God's creation. Endowed with 
faculties yet in an undeveloped state, they are 
capable of wonderful achievements if properly 
cultivated. How important that we understand 
its needs, and how to take care of it ; how to 
wash it and how to dress it, and how to feed it, 
and how to nurse it, and how to educate it, and 
how to give it that moral and intellectual train- 
ing that will fit it for the important duties and 
responsibilities of life. It is the bud that should 
be cared for if the flower is to arrive at maturity. 

(91) 



92 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

It is the seedling that must be properly culti- 
vated and protected if it is to grow to be a 
healthy vigorous plant. And the same is true of 
man; unless the infant is tenderly cared for and 
nourished and taught the lessons of life, it can 
never attain that perfect physical and mental 
development of which it is capable. Therefore, 
no inexperienced mother or simpleton of a 
nurse is competent to look after the physical, 
mental and moral prosperity of a baby ; mo- 
thers especially should know all about the 
caretaking and management of children, and 
not be at the mercy of ignorant nurses. And 
at this point of our inquiry it would seem nec- 
essary to say a few words on the qualifica- 
tions of 

The Nurse. — One of the first qualifications 
of a nurse is good common sense, to begin with. 
No ignorant or superstitious person is fit or 
should be allowed to have the care and train- 
ing of a baby. It is one of the most important 
duties that can engage the attention of any 
thinking mind, and yet one that has been 
more neglected than almost any other. Until 
recently the care of a child was haphazard ; any 
ignorant old woman was supposed to be fully 
competent to take charge of a baby, and " bring 
it up in the way it should go ; " but, fortunately 
for the rising generation, people are beginning 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 93 

to realize the importance of having intelligent 
and qualified persons to care for their children 
and nurse others when they are sick. 

In addition to being intelligent and well 
trained, a nurse should be healthy ; be free from 
all eruptive diseases, sores, ulcers, etc., and 
clear of all vices or pernicious habits. She 
ought to be gentle, patient, firm and cleanly, 
and whatever she has to do for a patient should 
be done with great gentleness. It is the little 
things, and the manner of doing them, that 
count in nursing as in everything else. Ad- 
justing the clothing, changing the bed-linen, 
bathing the patient, administering food and 
medicine and performing a thousand other 
duties, when done with skillful, willing hands, 
add greatly to the patient's comfort and pros- 
pects of recovery. 

Persons when sick are often very irritable 
and restless; taken suddenly from an active 
life and confined to bed, perhaps racked with 
pain, they become very impatient, and require 
great consideration and forbearance on the 
part of the nurse. Sometimes it is necessary 
for the nurse to be very firm ; but it must be 
remembered that firmness is not rudeness. We 
cannot expect a suffering patient to know as 
well what is best for him or her as those who 
are well with clear heads. Therefore, if it is 



94 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

best to do a certain thing, do it, but do it 
kindly. 

Cleanliness is said to be next to godliness, 
and a nurse should keep the sick-room clean 
and neat. A constant supply of pure atmospheric 
air is an absolute necessity in the sick-room. And 
everything that has a tendency in any way 
whatever to corrupt or vitiate the atmosphere 
of the room should be removed. All per- 
fumery, as cologne, musk, scent-bags, camphor, 
smelling-bottles, and quack nostrums, should 
be excluded, and nothing but the pure fresh 
air of heaven allowed as respiratory food. The 
absurd notion of keeping the room close and 
warm, under the apprehension of the patient 
taking cold, is a fruitful source of ill-health, 
and tends to foster disease and prevent re- 
covery. If a current of air passing through 
the room is so dangerous to the occupant as 
some people seem to believe, is it not strange 
we do not all die instanter when exposed to 
the open air or a sudden gale of wind ? The 
truth is, people suffer from what they call 
" taking cold " by breathing bad air, and not 
from too much good air. The reason coughs 
and colds are more prevalent in winter than 
in summer is because the people live in close, 
ill- ventilated rooms, breathing foul air, which 
poisons their life-blood, causing chills, fever, 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 95 

headache, pain in the bones, and inflammation 
of the mucous membrane of the air-passages; 
these they denominate "a cold;" whereas in 
summer the houses are thrown open, and the 
pure fresh air of heaven is allowed to flow in 
from all quarters, and hence we seldom hear 
of colds during that season. It should be borne 
in mind that bad air will poison the system as 
surely as bad food. 

Again, all offensive odors, the dressings from 
wounds, soiled clothing and the like, should 
be promptly removed from the room. All 
vessels should be emptied as soon as used and 
carefully washed. Remember, a very little 
thing will spoil the appetite of a person already 
sick. Never allow food to remain in the room 
if the patient cannot eat it, and do not let 
drinking water or milk stand long without being 
changed, as they absorb all gases that may be 
in the room ; for if the patient drinks these he 
will be taking back into his system the poisons 
which have been thrown off through the skin 
and other organs of the body. 

In the preparation and administration of 
food, great skill and adroitness are required on 
the part of the nurse. The physician in at- 
tendance is expected to name the articles of 
diet for the patient, and the nurse is supposed 
to know just how to cook and to serve them. 



96 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

When the patient has " a poor appetite " and 
is very fastidious, the better plan will be not 
to consult her about what she would like 
to eat, but surprise her with a new regimen, 
done up in good style. Spread the tray with 
a snow-white cloth, put on the best china 
dishes, have the silver shining brightly, and 
the food nicely adjusted, then take it promptly 
to the patient ; this will often have a salutary 
effect in stimulating the appetite. Remember, 
the mind exercises a wonderful influence over 
the appetite, as is often witnessed by the effect 
of bad news and other mental emotions on 
persons in the enjoyment of health. 

Having briefly spoken of nurses and nursing, 
we again take up the previous subject of 

Reception of the Infant at Birth. — It 
frequently happens that the child is born be- 
fore the arrival of the physician, and in such 
an event it is well to know what should be 
done and how to do it. 

After the head is born there is generally an 
interval of rest before the pain expels the body ; 
w r hile in this position the head should be sup- 
ported by the hand of the nurse, and if the 
cord be coiled around the neck, it should be 
disengaged or drawn down, so as to prevent 
strangulation. When the child is born, place 
it a little out of the discharges, and expose its 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 97 

face to the open air ; if the mouth or nostrils are 
obstructed by mucus, remove it with a soft 
napkin. If the child be healthy, and not in- 
jured in the birth, it will cry lustily as soon as 
it is born, and its skin will change from a light 
leaden hue to a pink or rose color. 

Cutting the Cord. — As soon as respiration 
is fully established in the child, and pulsations 
have ceased in the cord, the child may be sepa- 
rated from the mother. To do this, take a piece 
of small twine or other string, put it once 
around the cord, about two and a half inches 
from the abdomen, and tie it firmly in a hard 
knot ; cut off the loose ends, and tie another 
string one inch further up ; then, with a pair 
of scissors, sever the cord between the ligatures. 
Having done this, wrap the child in a warm 
blanket, or something similar, until ready to 
be washed and dressed. 

How to Wash the Baby. — As soon after the 
child is separated from the mother as con- 
venient, it should be carefully washed ; to do 
this, take a little hog's lard or sweet oil, and 
rub it thoroughly over the entire body, and 
especially in the arm-pits, groins, between the 
buttocks, and wherever the limbs are folded 
upon each other; then take a piece of dry 
flannel, and wipe the child until it is clean and 
dry. This will remove the white unctuous 
5 



98 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

matter that usually covers the skin of new-born 
infants, and which adheres to the parts with 
great tenacity. After this a little warm water 
and fine soap maybe used to remove the grease. 
The eyes and mouth should be washed with 
clear water, care being taken that no soap 
enters the eyes. It is important to have the 
child perfectly clean at this first bathing ; by 
observing care in this respect, scaly eruptions 
and excoriations of the skin will in many in- 
stances be avoided. 

The temperature of the room should be 
moderately warm, and the child bathed at least 
once a day ; at first, the water used should be 
about new milk warm, but the temperature 
should be gradually lowered, and after a few 
weeks may be used cold. Never bathe a child 
in a cold room, but have the temperature a 
little warmer than the water to be used. Dur- 
ing the daily process of bathing the infant, its 
mind should be amused and its attention 
attracted in such a manner as to make the 
operation one of pleasure instead of pain. Even 
at this tender age the little creature may be 
taught to be patient and even happy under 
trying circumstances. It should be borne in 
mind that every act of the mother or nurse 
towards the little infant is productive of good 
or evil upon its character as well as health. 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 99 

Even the act of washing or dressing may be 
made to discipline and improve or aggravate 
its temper, and thus exert an influence upon 
its whole future life. The parent and nurse 
therefore, should always treat the infant as a 
sensitive and intelligent creature from the very 
first hour of its existence. 

How to Dress the Baby. — In the dressing 
of a new-born infant the first thing to be at- 
tended to is the umbilical cord, or that portion 
of it which remains attached to the abdomen. 
It has long been the practice among physicians 
and nurses to wrap around the cord a strip of 
muslin or old linen, after the fashion of wrap- 
ping up a sore finger. It is then laid up towards 
the child's breast, and a compress, made of 
several thicknesses of soft muslin or linen, 
placed over it, and the whole kept in place by 
a flannel bandage, five or six inches wide, placed 
around the child's body and secured by three 
or four pins. This is the usual method of 
dressing the navel. The cord generally comes 
off in five or six days, but the bandage is kept 
on in many cases until the child goes into 
short clothes. This time-honored custom of 
bandaging the infant is open to serious objec- 
tions: in the first place, nine times out of ten 
it is put on too tight, producing unequal 
pressure upon the abdominal walls, and not 



100 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

infrequently causing rupture. It is a source 
of irritation and discomfort to the child, and 
interferes with the functions of digestion. 

How to Dress the Navel. — Take a small 
pad of absorbent cotton, say six inches long and 
three inches wide, make a hole in the center, 
pass the cord through this, laying the pad 
lengthways with the child's body; now lay the 
cord up towards the child's breast and fold the 
lower end of the pad over it, and secure the 
whole by a light flannel band, merely to hold 
the dressing in place until the cord comes off, 
when the band should be discarded, there being 
no further use for it. 

How to Dress the Baby. — It is scarcely 
necessary to describe the usual method of dress- 
ing the baby ; every expectant mother or nurse 
is familiar with the little linen shirt, w T ith saw- 
teeth edging around the neck ; the long flannel 
petticoat, with wide inelastic band at the top; 
the dress, and lastly the diaper. The garments 
thus made and put on in the usual way are not 
only uncomfortable, unphysiological, but abso- 
lutely injurious. A moment's thought will 
convince any sensible person that an inelastic 
band placed around an infant's chest, reaching 
from the armpits to the navel, and pinned 
tightly — over two fingers is the old rule — must 
necessarily interfere with the free expansion of 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 101 

the lungs during the first weeks and months of 
an infant's life. We must remember, the walls 
of the chest are easily compressed and deformed 
at this early period of life. Another objection 
to this form of garment is, the chest is warmly 
clad while the shoulders are left with only a 
slight covering — the dress. Again, the skirt is 
folded from side to side over each limb, and 
the bottom turned up and pinned, so that the 
little one cannot kick and use its limbs as it 
will want to do. 

There is a better way to dress the baby, infi- 
nitely better, in " The Gertrude Baby Suit." 
This suit is the design of Dr. Grosvenor, of 
Chicago, and is constructed as follows: The 
undergarment should be made of nice fleecy 
goods — Canton flannel is the best we have at 
present — cut princess, reaching from the neck 
to ten inches (twenty-five inches long) below 
the feet, with sleeves to the wrists, and having 
all the seams smooth, and the hems at the neck, 
wrist and bottom upon the outside — the latter 
turned over once and felled or cat-stitched with 
colored worsted — a tie and one button behind. 
Here you have a complete fleece-lined gar- 
ment, comfortable and healthy, and one that 
can be washed without shrinking. The next 
garment is made of baby flannel (woolen), also 
cut princess, same pattern, only one-half inch 



102 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

larger, reaching from the neck, and may be em- 
broidered at pleasure. The dress cut princess 
to match the other garments is preferable. 

The ordinary baby dresses are all right, ex- 
cept that I would have them only from thirty 
inches to a yard in length. 

Now, these three garments are put together 
before dressing, sleeve within sleeve, and they 
are put over the little one's head at once, and 
buttoned behind, and the baby is dressed, there 
being but one pin — a diaper pin — in baby's 
dress instead of fifteen. No shoulder blanket 
should be used, because it is sometimes over 
the head, sometimes about the shoulders and 
neck, and sometimes off entirely, and these 
changes are exposures. Accustom the little 
one from the first to go without it. 

At night the dress should be simply a Canton 
flannel night-dress and a diaper — the dress 
being not unlike the undergarment in the suit, 
only a little longer. It is absurd to think that 
a child can rest sweetly in a diaper, a bandage, 
a petticoat pinned tightly around the chest, and 
a double gown, as many a child is expected to 
do. A good rule is to " dress the little ones as 
you would love to be dressed if you were a 
babe." There is nothing wonderful about this 
simple dress. The only wonder is that we 
have dressed our little ones so badly so long. 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 103 

The Diaper. — The diapers should be made 
in two pieces, the outer one cut triangular- 
shaped, of one thickness, the long edge being 
selvaged to avoid the hem. The other piece, 
made, say, ten inches square, is folded in the 
form of an envelope and placed in the center 
of the outer piece when being applied, and the 
diaper put on in the usual way and fastened 
with a safety-pin. 

This form of diaper saves the heat and dis- 
comfort of so many thicknesses over the hips 
and kidneys, and has the advantage of a small 
piece to wash for the soil and plenty of sop 
where most needed. The cotton flannel is 
softer, warmer and more absorbent than linen 
or any other material. The hem is turned 
once on the right side and run through the 
machine. Use fleecy side next to the baby. 

The main advantages of this method of 
dressing the baby are : 

1. Perfect freedom to all thoracic, abdominal 
and pelvic organs. 

2. That all the clothing shall hang from the 
shoulders. 

3. The greatest saving of the time and 
strength of the mother in caring for the babe, 
there being but one pin instead of fifteen. 

4. The resulting health and comfort of the 
child. 



104 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

5. The evenness of the covering of the body, 
there being the same covering over the shoul- 
ders as elsewhere. 

Owing to the extreme sensibility of infants 
to atmospheric changes, and for other reasons, 
we believe wool-flannel should be worn next 
the skin, at least during the winter season. 
The clothing should be ivarm and light, and 
its protective quality should be uniform for 
the whole body, except the head, w T hich is suit- 
ably provided for by nature. The flannel 
should be of fine soft wool, to avoid undue irri- 
tation, and to keep the skin moist and healthy. 
Such flannel seldom, if ever, produces rash or 
discomfort of any kind ; if, however, it should 
be found to irritate the skin in rare cases, or in 
very warm weather, a slip made of thin silk or 
linen may be put on under the flannel as a 
protection. 

The Dress Should be Loose. — The gar- 
ments should be made to fit loosely, so as not 
to impede the circulation, compress the parts, 
or restrain the motions of the body or limbs in 
any manner. Babies are generally dressed too 
tightly; their bones are as elastic as cartilage, 
and their flesh is soft and yielding, so that the 
slightest constriction of the parts may so inter- 
fere with their natural development as to cause 
suffering and deformity that may continue for 



HOW TO CARE FOR THE BABY. 105 

a lifetime. Hence the necessity of dressing the 
child as loosely as possible, so as to give the 
utmost freedom to all parts of the body while 
it is in this undeveloped state. Remember that 
children need exercise, even in early infancy ; they 
want to kick and perform a thousand other 
muscular movements, which they will not be 
able to do if hampered by tight or heavy cloth- 
ing, and when it is improperly put on. Again, 
they are frequently wrapped in blankets or 
shawls and held closely in the arms of nurses, 
when they become restless and fretful, because 
prevented from moving their limbs and bodies 
about, agreeable to the impulses of their own 
nature. The fact is, children are nursed and 
carried and " fussed with " entirely too much ; 
it would be far better to give them a place on 
a bed or lounge, with full liberty to exercise 
their muscles and amuse themselves. During 
the first three months of its existence the in- 
fant should be handled but little, and never 
placed in an erect or sitting position ; nor 
should it be jolted, or tossed up and down — a 
practice nurses frequently indulge in — as the 
bones are soft and pliable and the joints are 
imperfectly developed ; hence there is danger 
of injury to these delicate structures, causing 
disease and often deformity. 

Let the infant, then, be warmly clad, its 



106 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

clothing principally of flannel, and so distrib- 
uted as to cover all parts of the body alike, 
neither tight enough to impede the circulation 
nor obstruct the breathing, nor long enough to 
prevent its kicking and the free use of all its 
limbs. Its arms and neck should be covered 
as well as the legs, and the diaper should be 
loose, so as not to chafe, and fastened with a 
safety-pin to guard against accident. 

Care of the Mother. — After delivery the 
patient should be made as comfortable as possi- 
ble, that she may rest and sleep, if need be. 
When fairly rested, the child may be put to 
the breast and allowed to nurse until it is 
satisfied. There may be no milk in the breasts 
as yet, but a watery secretion will be found 
there adapted to the child's wants until the 
" milk comes." The child should be applied 
to each breast alternately in order to prevent 
overdistension in either, and to guard against 
the formation of abscesses. Should the breasts 
become lumpy and painful, bathe them gently 
with hot lard, and keep them well drawn. 

State of the Bowels. — It is perfectly natural 
for the bowels to remain in a torpid or inactive 
condition several days after delivery. In a 
majority of cases they will be moved by the 
end of the fifth or sixth day. Should any dis- 
comfort arise in consequence of constipation, 



HOW TO CAKE FOR THE BABY. 107 

an injection of lukewarm water may be ad- 
ministered and the bowels relieved. In no case 
should purgative medicine be given during confine- 
ment. Any woman who takes a dose of purga- 
tive medicine soon after delivery endangers her 
life, and while many escape who do take oil 
and other laxatives at such times, they run a 
fearful risk by so doing. We have known 
cases where a single dose of cathartic medicine 
taken soon after childbirth caused inflamma- 
tion of the womb, followed by intense suffering 
and death in a few hours. Many such cases 
occur, and the friends never suspect the cause. 
The infant is often made sick and to suffer 
from colic, griping pains and diarrhoea, from 
nursing the mother after she has taken such 
drugs. So strong is the prejudice on the part 
of some mothers and nurses in favor of giving 
cathartics at such times, that the nurse will 
often give a " dose of oil " or some other pur- 
gative without even consulting the attending 
physician. 

Of the Lochia. — The discharges from the 
vagina, which take place after delivery, are 
called lochia. After the first few days, until 
about the tenth day, these discharges are simi- 
lar in appearance and quantity to the men- 
strual discharges. In a majority of cases the 
red color leaves about the tenth day, and it is 



108 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

usually succeeded in its turn by a whitish or 
raucous discharge. 

Vaginal Injections. — The importance of 
cleanliness during confinement cannot be over- 
estimated. The vagina should be syringed 
daily by the nurse with lukewarm water. If 
the lochia be dark in color or offensive, a solu- 
tion of Carbolic Acid should be used. To a 
pint of tepid water add a teaspoonful of the 
acid, and use this as an injection. This will 
keep the parts clean and guard against fever 
from blood poisoning. 

Duration of Confinement. — For the first 
three or four days after delivery the woman 
should remain quiet in bed, keep her mind 
free from excitement, and live on plain food, 
such as light puddings, farina, cornstarch, oat- 
meal mush, toast and similar articles, and, as 
a drink, water, chocolate or milk. If now all 
goes well she may rise daily to have her bed 
made up, and gradually return to her ordinary 
diet. The first week should be chiefly spent 
in bed, or at least in a recumbent position, 
during which time all visitors should be ex- 
cluded from the room. A woman ought not 
to leave her room, or go up or down-stairs for 
two weeks after the birth of the child. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 

Beautiful Structure of — Chances to Live— Mor- 
tality of— Statistics — Teething Sickness — Cause 
of Death among Infants — Faulty Alimentation — 
Constipation— Taking Cold— Overfeeding — Three 
Meals a Day — Deficient Lactation — Prescribing 
Stimulants, etc. 



The several subjects already discussed bring 
us to the consideration of the one of paramount 
importance — the baby — one of the most com- 
plex and beautiful structures ever turned out 
of the workshop of Him who doeth all things 
well. " Imagine to yourselves," says Dean Close, 
" that lovely and beautiful object, a naked new- 
born babe; gaze upon it. Is there anything 
more beautiful, or more curious, in creation 
than that little infant? See its structure. Is it 
not curiously and wonderfully made? Look 
at its little hands; see how it plays with its 
little fingers, as if it wanted to touch ; how it 
stretches its little feet, as if it wanted to stand ; 
how its eyes look into vacancy, as if it won- 
dered at the new world into which it had been 
(109) 



110 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

brought. All its faculties, indeed, are in the 
lowest state of development, but there is a 
promise of wonderful results. Look at it again 
as the handiwork of God. Take each of its 
organs of sense. Look at its eye ; go and con- 
sult the oculist, and he will explain its won- 
derful structure; there is the mirror upon which 
external objects are to be reflected ; there is the 
protection afforded by the eyelid and eyelash ; 
and there is the marvelous adjustment of all 
the parts for the purpose intended. Look, again, 
at the ear, at once a drum and a trumpet 
formed for the conveyance of sound. Look at 
its lips, its tongue, and, by and by, at its teeth, 
and ask the elocutionist how marvelously this 
combination of organs results in the divine 
faculty of speech. There is the body of the 
future man ; look at it and see the handiwork 
of God." 

Such is a graphic description of the new- 
born infant " so fearfully and wonderfully 
made." The mother has suffered in her travail, 
and the husband has grieved over his wife's 
sufferings, while sympathizing friends have 
waited at her bedside ; and now the innocent 
babe that sleeps by her side is the happy re- 
ward for the sickness and pain she had to en- 
dure. At first, helpless to a degree, it invites 
her sympathy and protection ; as the stream of 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. Ill 

life gains power new feelings of love expand 
her maternal heart. Soon the infant by a smile 
rewards the fond mother, and by its little ex- 
clamations of pleasure makes her rejoice with 
exceeding gladness. Day by day it grows more 
interesting, giving evidence by its childish 
prattle of opening intelligence, and soon it be- 
comes a " wellspring of pleasure/ ' and is en- 
deared to the hearts of all who come within its 
influence. 

But how different the picture when disease 
overtakes it ! How grief-stricken and dejected 
the mother ! How sad and how sorrowful the 
father, while all the household within are dis- 
tressed by its pitiful moan. The little creature 
itself, how changed ; behold how haggard its 
face and how emaciated its form. The mother, 
in her devotion, still waits upon it with un- 
ceasing love ; self is forgotten in her anxiety, 
while she watches over it through long dreary 
days and nights. But who can tell how soon, 
like the tiny floweret or tender blossom, it may 
wither and die. 

Infant Mortality. — It is said that a new- 
born babe has a less chance to live a week than 
a man of ninety, and less chance of living one 
year than an octogenarian. The records of mor- 
tality prove that nearly one-third of the infants 
born, die before they reach the end of the first 



112 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

year, and that ten per cent, more succumb 
before reaching two years. In the cities of 
Philadelphia and Baltimore nearly fifty out 
of every one hundred children die before 
reaching their fifth birthday ; and in New 
York City fifty-three per cent, of the total num- 
ber of deaths occur under the age of five years. 
During the months of June, July and August, 
1887, 4119 children under the age of one year 
died in this city alone. We could give the 
figures to corroborate this statement, were it 
necessary ; but as few persons have a desire for 
the dry details of statistics, we refrain from 
giving them here. 

In England and France the ratio of deaths 
among infants is very similar to that of our 
own country. In Yorkshire, England, one- 
fourth of them die before they are a year old ; 
and in Leicester the death-rate is still greater, 
more than four infants in ten being swept off 
in the first few months of their existence. In 
France the case is more terrible. At Paris one 
half die ere they reach four years. This is a 
fearful cost at which the battle of life is fought 
and won. It is absolutely shocking ! And 
this mortality is not confined to the wretched 
poor nor to the crowded tenement houses in 
densely populated districts, but is found every- 
where, among the rich as among the lowly, 
among the educated and the illiterate. 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 113 

Now, is this mortality a necessary evil? We 
say not, and believe it arises in a great mea- 
sure from preventable causes. " It certainly," 
says Dr. Dawson, " cannot be supposed that 
the Creator intended that all these little ones 
should suffer and die. There is every proof to 
the contrary. Has He not wisely and benefi- 
cently adapted all their physical wants to the 
circumstances in which they are supposed to 
be naturally placed ? Has He not surrounded 
them with every condition and requirement 
necessary for the maintenance of life and 
health ? For the very preservation of life has 
He not ordained certain laws to be observed, 
the neglect of which necessarily brings disease 
and premature death ? " 

How, then, are we to account for this terrible 
mortality ? Nearly all writers who have en- 
deavored to explain it assign bad ventilation, 
improper food, dentition, want of cleanliness, 
etc., as the principal causes. The first of 
these — defective ventilation — will, no doubt, 
lessen the chances of life, but will hardly 
account for the increased d'eath-rate which 
occurs in the summer season, when all, the 
rich as well as the poor, have their houses and 
windows thrown open and well ventilated. 
Want of breast-milk is one of the several 
causes, and a powerful one, no doubt; still it 



114 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

must be obvious, from the number of infants 
that die who receive their mother's milk, that 
its injurious effects are exaggerated, and the 
great majority of deaths are evidently due to 
some other cause. 

Teething Sickness. — The process of denti- 
tion or teething is believed by many to be a 
potent factor in causing the diseases and mor- 
tality among infants. It always seemed strange 
to us why the human infant should be sub- 
jected to so much sickness and suffering while 
getting its teeth, which is a natural physio- 
logical process. All the other organs of the 
body are perfected without any unusual dis- 
turbance, and the young of the lower animals 
" cut their teeth " without any manifestation 
of pain or discomfort whatever, so far as can 
be observed. Why the Creator should inflict 
all this punishment on the infant alone during 
the process of teething is beyond our compre- 
hension. We do not believe that He does. 
The truth is, we are all " living out of the natu- 
ral order." "In no sense," says Dr. C. E. Page, 
" is sickness an incident of teething." And Dr. 
B. F. Dawson, Physician to the New York 
Dispensary for Sick Children, declares : " If 
there ever was an absurd fallacy fastened upon 
the popular mind it is, in my opinion, this 
bugbear of • teething sickness.' " And these 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 115 

views are supported by many other leading 
physicians and scientists who have devoted a 
large share of attention to the subject. 

Cause of Death Among Infants. — In pur- 
suing this inquiry, we find that the great num- 
ber of children that die under one year of age — 
over 75 per cent. — is due to gastro-intestinal 
disorders. Dr. Ballard published in the Brit- 
ish and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, 
for 1870, an article on " Infant Mortality/' in 
which he shows that during a period of five 
consecutive years there were in England 314,- 
242 deaths of infants under one year of age, 
and of this number, 277,852 were due to dis- 
eases of the digestive organs — over 88 per cent. 
Dr. C. E. Buckingham, of Boston, states that in 
1870 there were 9,873 children who died in 
Massachusetts under five years of age, more 
than one-half of whom died from intestinal 
diseases. Dr. B. Dawson says : " Of 11,381 
children under twelve years of age, treated 
at the Dispensary for Sick Children, in New 
York City, during three years, 3,243 were suf- 
fering from diseases of the digestive organs." 
And this seems to be true of whatever town or 
country from which the report is selected. 

Faulty Alimentation. — What then is the 
inference to be drawn from this great prepon- 
derance of gastro-intestinal disturbance and 



116 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

terrible mortality from the same among in- 
fants ? Do not the facts in the case point to 
an unhealthy or defective system of dietary? 
It is our belief, verified by experience, that it 
is the immediate or subsequent result of faulty 
alimentation, chiefly through the prevailing 
ignorance as to the proper requirements of the 
infant's stomach, and especially to excessive 
feeding — too many meals and too much food at a 
time. Everything goes to prove that the food 
received into the stomach must be taken in 
such quantities and at such intervals as will 
admit of its perfect digestion and assimilation. 
Unless these conditions are faithfully observed 
disease of the digestive organs in some form is 
almost sure to follow sooner or later. The 
stomach of a healthy infant is capable of di- 
gesting and assimilating a certain amount of 
food daily, sufficient for the child's normal 
growth; if this amount be exceeded the surplus 
will not be digested and appropriated by the 
system, but will be expelled by frequent purg- 
ing, puking, increased urination, etc., the 
methods of nature to get rid of the excess. 

The same law in regard to eating applies to 
grown persons. Dr. R. C. Fisher, of Washing- 
ton, D. C, says: "It seems to be a more and 
more acknowledged fact in the ordinary ex- 
perience of life that ' we eat too much/ and my 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 117 

own experiments for eighteen years with re- 
gard to the relation of food to the needs of the 
organism have taught me that no one is in 
danger of starvation who eats a pound of vege- 
table food a day and nothing more. The lia- 
bility to every form of disease is incalculably 
decreased for the moderate eater, and propor- 
tionately increased for the man who constantly 
overtaxes his digestive organs." 

Constipation of Infants. — Constipation of 
infants is another and common trouble, the 
result of excessive and too frequent feeding. 
"The explanation of this," says Dr. B. F. 
Dawson, "is quite simple. The stomach being 
overburdened with food, and consequently 
overtaxed with work, each supply of milk, 
instead of being coagulated into fine and soft 
coagula, which are readily acted upon by the 
secreted pepsin, comes into contact with the 
semi-digested coagula of the preceding meal, 
and, in consequence, is coagulated more rapidly 
than it should be normally, the coagula being 
larger and harder. Such masses, if not ejected, 
pass into the intestinal canal, but little if any 
changed by the digestive process, will impact 
together, and from their size and dryness are 
with difficulty passed along the bowels, thus 
giving rise to constipation, colic, etc." Over- 
taxing the digestive organs by eating too often 



118 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

and too much deranges every function of the 
body. If the food is not taken up by the ab- 
sorbents and used by the system in the forma- 
tion of new tissue, and in repairing the waste 
which is continually going on in the body, it 
rapidly undergoes chemical decomposition in the 
alimentary canal, causing flatulence, colicky 
pains and other symptoms of indigestion. 

Taking Cold. — Again, the excretory organs 
become deranged from the same source, which 
often leads to the retention of waste matter 
in the system, clogging the circulation and 
producing a species of blood poisoning, charac- 
terized by lassitude, fever, watery eyes and 
mucous discharge from the air-passages ; these 
symptoms are usually denominated a " cold," 
but are nothing more nor less than a surfeit 
fever. We think it safe to say that not one 
in twenty of the so-called colds is due to expo- 
sure or sudden changes in the weather, as gen- 
erally believed, but to derangement of the 
digestive organs from the use of improper food 
or overindulgence in eating. 

It cannot be too firmly impressed upon the 
minds of parents and nurses that it is not the 
quantity of food swallowed by the infant that 
nourishes it, but the amount it can digest and 
assimilate that insures the happiest results ; but 
this simple truth is one which, in practice, 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 119 

is constantly lost sight of. It is a custom 
almost universal to stuff the infant with some- 
thing almost as soon as it is born, and the 
practice is kept up at night as well as by day, 
feeding it every two or three hours, and even 
often er, for with some mothers and nurses 
every cry means hunger, and must be quieted 
with additional food. This is particularly the 
case during the first year of the infant's life, 
and hence the greatest mortality is at that 
period. After this age they are fed less fre- 
quently, and we have fewer deaths in conse- 
quence. 

Overfeeding the Baby. — If there is any 
logical or physiological reason why an infant 
should be fed more frequently than a grown 
person, we would be glad to know it. The 
saying that a " growing child " requires more 
food accordingly than a grown person is un- 
supported by either reason or analogy. Any 
farmer who has had experience in stock-rais- 
ing can easily demonstrate the absurdity of 
such a proposition, for it is well known that 
a calf will gain steadily in flesh and add sixty 
per cent, to its weight in six weeks on two meals 
a day — fed on cow's milk at that. The " old 
mother cat " seems to understand the philoso- 
phy of digestion and assimilation better than 
some human mothers or " experienced nurses/' 



120 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

for she will leave her kittens — sometimes for 
five or six hours- — and when she returns, in- 
stead of finding them starved, finds them 
" alive and akickin." The common rabbit, 
Lepus cuniculus, will leave her little ones from 
early morn till late at night, when she returns 
to give them a " good square meal." Think of 
a young rabbit with its " little stomach " going 
without anything to eat for twelve or fourteen 
hours, and living to grow fat. 

Three Meals a Day. — It has been our 
happy privilege to induce many mothers to 
adopt Nature's method of feeding the babies, 
by giving them only three meals a day, instead 
of so many, and the result shows that it has 
been eminently successful. We could cite 
many cases that have come under our imme- 
diate observation, of babies that have been 
reared on three meals a day, where they gained 
steadily in weight, remained healthy and 
happy, sleeping well, and passing through the 
whole period of dentition without sickness or 
suffering of any kind. These babies were not 
troubled with colic, diarrhoea, throwing up, or 
incontinence of urine, as children generally 
are who are fed on the old traditional plan. 
There need be no fear of the infant starving. 
An adult can labor for twelve consecutive 
hours daily, using his brain and muscles con- 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 121 

tinually, on three meals a day, while the new- 
born infant, who has nothing to do but to 
11 laugh and grow fat," must be fed, according 
to the traditional notions of our ancient grand- 
mothers, ten or twelve times every twenty-four 
hours. The absurdity of the practice is so 
self-evident that we feel like apologizing to the 
reader for simply making the statement. 

Again, if an infant be fed every two hours dur- 
ing the day, and two or three times at night — 
and many are fed even oftener than this — it 
will have taken, say, ten meals in the twenty- 
four hours. Now, suppose the child is six 
months old, and weighs fifteen pounds, it will 
take four ounces of milk at each meal ; this 
would amount to forty ounces a day; but in 
order not to overestimate the quantity taken, 
let us call it thirty-two ounces, or one quart, 
which it would receive daily. Now, suppose 
the mother is twenty-five years old, and weighs 
140 pounds, and her diet cow's milk ; she would 
have to swallow — in order to take as much 
accordingly as the infant — ten quarts of milk 
every day. Does any sane person believe she 
could take this amount of food daily and not 
suffer from indigestion or something still worse? 
Would she be likely to reach her twenty-sixth 
birthday under a system of cramming like this? 
or would she be not more likely to fall a victim 

6 



122 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

to a " mysterious dispensation of Divine Provi- 
dence," who persistently refuses to stultify His 
own laws and produce good results from wrong 
doing ? 

Deficient Lactation. — Again, frequent 
nursing of the infant by the mother is a com- 
mon cause of deficient lactation. We have 
seen many healthy mothers who, on first be- 
ginning to nurse, had an abundance of milk, 
but in a few weeks the secretion would be so 
greatly diminished that they were compelled to 
" dry up the breasts " — as they call it — and to 
cease suckling altogether. These, in most every 
instance were, in our opinion, the result of too 
frequent nursing of the infant, exhausting the 
lactiferous organ and arresting the proper 
secretion of milk. There can be no doubt 
whatever that this constant drain upon the 
mother, by overtaxing the breast and so abus- 
ing its power, leads to a cessation of its func- 
tions. A deficiency of milk is often the result 
of exhaustion, or a run-down condition of the 
system ; in other instances it is caused by indi- 
gestion and defective assimilation. Amative 
indulgence also diminishes the quantity of the 
milk and injures the quality, and where this 
indulgence excites menstruation and results 
in pregnancy there is a double misfortune. 
The child at the breast and the child in the 



HOW TO SAVE THE BABY. 123 

womb are both defrauded. The milk from a 
well-behaved cow is better for a child than 
that from a mother who indulges in such a pro- 
pensity. 

The practice of some nurses, and even some 
doctors, of prescribing porter, ale, beer and other 
preparations of alcohol for nursing mothers, 
under the impression that it is beneficial in 
promoting the secretion of milk, is a grievous 
error which cannot be too severely condemned. 
Infants are often kept in a state of intoxication 
for weeks by the mothers using these beverages. 
Let no one be induced by friend or physician 
to drink these beverages, thinking it will in- 
crease the flow of milk or give strength — it 
mill do neither. It is feeding the babe on poison, 
and if, unfortunately, the child has any heredi- 
tary tendency towards a love of strong drink, 
this course is actually fostering the tendency. 
Would it be at all strange if a child raised in 
this way should grow up with an appetite for 
alcoholic liquors ? 

Again, it is well known to every farmer who 
has had experience in stock-raising that to 
allow a calf to run with its mother, and suck 
whenever its inclinations dictate, will very 
soon " ruin the cow as a milker ;" hence, for 
prudential reasons, the wise farmer only per- 
mits the calf to indulge in two meals a day. 



124 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

So, then, considering the subject from what- 
ever standpoint we may, we find the frequent 
feeding or stuffing of infants is attended with 
serious consequences, and should be aban- 
doned; it is irrational, unphilosophical, and 
has neither reason nor common sense to com- 
mend it to favor. 



CHAPTER XL 

HOW TO FEED THE BABY. 

The old Method — Feeding and Dosing — Importance 
of Starting Right— Three Meals a Day — Baby's 
First Meal— Dyspepsia of Infants, etc. 



This is one of the most important subjects 
that can engage the attention of any mother or 
nurse who may have the care or management 
of an infant. Before entering directly upon its 
consideration, however, we wish to say a few 
words on the method of feeding the baby as in- 
augurated by our ancient grandmothers, and 
which has been handed down to us by tradi- 
tion, and is generally adopted by parents and 
nurses even at the present time. 

When we reflect that nearly all the diseases 
to which the infant is liable in the early periods 
of life may be fairly traced to faulty alimen- 
tation, the importance of the subject at once be- 
comes apparent. 

Feeding and Dosing. — The custom of feed- 
ing an infant on sweetened water, gruel, panada 
and other slop victuals, soon after it is born, 
is not only wrong, but absolutely injurious. 

(125) 



126 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

No sooner is the child washed and dressed and 
made comfortable than the nurse, with cup and 
spoon, is on hand to "feed the baby " " to keep 
it from starving/' under the silly impression 
that it must be very hungry after its nine 
months' imprisonment in the little " house not 
made with hands." And here the trouble be- 
gins. Having taken its first meal — usually of 
sweetened water or gruel — the child soon be- 
comes uneasy, frets and cries with pain caused 
by the improper food it has taken, which is 
undergoing fermentation in the stomach. Not 
being able to make known its wants by words — 
having no language but a cry, by which to 
plead for the righting of its wrongs — it screams 
in a most pitiful manner to the discomfort of the 
tender-hearted mother and all others around. 
The " good old nurse," with her boasted " ex- 
perience," still believes it a " hungry cry," 
issues her second order for rations, and this 
time gives it cow's milk and water well sweet- 
ened ; the effect of this will be to aggravate 
rather than relieve the little unfortunate 
victim. Recourse is now had to " catmint 
tea," "calamus tea," "soot tea," "paregoric," 
"soothing syrup," or some other nostrum, by 
means of which another form of gastric irrita- 
tion is added to the already existing disturb- 
ance. Thus, between the two — stuffing and 



HOW TO FEED THE BABY. 127 

drugging — the very life of the helpless infant 
is put in jeopardy, and, if it escapes the doom 
of death, is left to drag out a miserable exist- 
ance the rest of its days. Thousands of these 
little ones suffer from almost constant narcot- 
ism, begun and fostered in this way by ignor- 
ant parents and nurses, and are either poisoned 
out of the world ere they have seen the end of 
the first year, or they grow up sickly, with 
depraved appetites and weakened intellects, to 
fall victims to the vice of intemperance. It is 
our honest conviction, founded upon extensive 
observation, that the abuse of the digestive 
organs in early childhood, by frequent and 
overfeeding, the use of condiments, tea, coffee, 
and quack nostrums vended under the be- 
witching names of " Soothing Syrup/' " In- 
fant's Cordial," "Nerve Tonic," "Golden Bitters," 
"Blood Purifier," etc., leads in after years to 
the development of the drunkard's appetite, and 
the misery of the drunkard's career. How can 
we expect an infant, dosed with anodyne mix- 
tures and narcotic stimulants during the first 
two or three years of its life, to grow to man- 
hood and not have a morbid craving for strong 
drink or its twin sister, tobacco ? 

The digestive organs of the new-born infant 
being thus prostrated and enfeebled, all the 
painful consequences of indigestion are sure 



128 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

to follow in its wake; such as acidity, flatu- 
lency, colic, vomiting, diarrhoea, green and grip- 
ing stools, emaciation, and a long train of other 
disorders. Mne-tenths of these distressing ail- 
ments which afflict the infant in the first half 
year of its life are the result of indigestion, 
caused by stuffing and dosing the child soon 
after it is born. If its tender stomach be filled 
with sweetened water or gruel a few times dur- 
ing the first two days of its life, the chances are 
ten to one that it will be unable to digest the 
mother's milk when she is able to supply it. 

The fact that in nearly all cases the mother 
is unable to furnish milk for the baby until it 
is at least two days old shows the impropriety 
of giving it artificial food, and the necessity 
of waiting until the "milk comes." Nature can 
always be trusted with the management of her 
own affairs, and as she has been successful in 
the production and development of a lovely 
human being, " created a little lower than the 
angels/' she may safely be trusted to manage 
its diet, and will in nowise leave it to suffer and 
starve. 

It may seem like a trifling matter to put 
into the stomach of a new-born babe a few 
spoonfuls of sweetened water or catmint tea 
(by the way, we know one of these " experi- 
enced nurses " to give an infant a pint of cat- 



HOW TO FEED THE BABY. 129 

mint tea before it was twelve hours old, and 
she declared to us that it " cried all night with 
the colic" notwithstanding her efforts to relieve 
it), but it is doubtful if it ever entirely recovers 
from the effects of such an attack made upon 
it in the " house of its friends." Whenever 
anything is taken into the stomach, either in 
the form of food or drink, which is not readily 
digested and assimilated, it is sure to produce 
more or less gastric derangement; there is 
scarcely any part of the organism which is not 
called into morbid sympathetic action by such 
a condition. Here, in the central organs of 
life — the digestive organs — is found the start- 
ing point, or place of beginning, of a large ma- 
jority of all the diseases that occur in child- 
hood. And there is every reason to believe 
that the gastro-intestinal disorders known as 
indigestion or dyspepsia, from which so many 
people suffer, are the result of overfeeding and 
drugging in early infancy. 

Importance of Starting Right. — How im- 
portant, then, it is to start right in this matter, 
to avoid all errors and excesses in feeding the 
new-born infant, whose tender stomach is so 
easily deranged by improper food and over- 
feeding, and which is the cause of nearly all 
the gastro-intestinal disorders with which the 
infant has to suffer, We must rely upon 



130 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

nature to furnish the infant with proper food 
for its sustenance, and which is in harmony 
with its healthy growth and development, 
namely, the mother's milk; it should have no 
other food but this until after dentition, 
unless the mother be diseased in some way 
to make her milk unsuitable, or in case of her 
death, when it could not be obtained ; in such 
an event a wet-nurse should be procured, or 
cow's milk, suitably prepared, furnished as a 
substitute. 

Do not stuff the new-born infant, then, with 
artificial food, but wait for coming events ; it 
does not require food of any kind, except that 
furnished by the mother, which will be forth- 
coming in due time ; if fed otherwise the infant 
will be sure to suffer from flatulence, sickness 
and pain ; and the chances are that when the 
" milk comes," and the mother is prepared to 
supply the child's wants, it will refuse to nurse 
and in all probability be unable to digest the 
milk when it is taken. No fears need be enter- 
tained if the breasts do not secrete milk for 
forty-eight hours or even longer, the baby will 
not starve. Nature can manage these things 
far better than parents or " experienced nurses/' 
or even the doctors ; the great danger to strive 
against is feeding too often and feeding too much. 

Three Meals a Day. — The question, then, 



HOW TO FEED THE BABY. 131 

How often to feed the Baby, is of the greatest 
importance; and at the threshold of the in- 
quiry we would impress upon the minds of all 
parents and nurses the necessity of starting right 
in this matter ; remember, " a good beginning 
is half the battle/' and generally determines 
whether the conflict for life shall be won or 
lost. 

As previously stated, the mother seldom has 
milk for her babe until it is two or three days 
old ; nevertheless it should be put to the breast 
a. few hours after birth, as it not only teaches it 
to suck, but invites an early flow of milk. There 
is a w r atery or whey -like secretion found in the 
mother's breast before the child is born or at 
the time of its birth, which is a wise provision 
of Nature to supply the wants of the infant as 
soon as it enters the world. This early secre- 
tion, called colostrum, is the first food that should 
enter the infant's stomach ; no sweetened water 
or artificial food of any kind should be given 
for reasons already pointed out. If the mother 
is healthy, her milk is undoubtedly the most 
natural food for the child ; nor should it be fed 
on anything else until it gets its first or tem- 
porary teeth. 

Baby's First Meal. — After the child has 
been washed and dressed, and the mother fairly 
rested, the infant should be put to the breast 



132 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

and receive its first meal. It should be allowed 
to nurse until its wants are satisfied, when it 
may be removed from the mother, placed in a 
comfortable position and permitted to sleep as 
long as it will. After the first meal it should 
be nursed regularly three times a day, say at 6 
a.m., at 12 m., and at 6 p.m., but never during the 
night. This may seem to the mother or nurse 
— who has been accustomed to feeding a baby 
every two hours during the day, and two or 
three times at night — like a " starvation diet/' 
but if they could be induced to take food as 
often, and as much accordingly, as the infant, 
they would possibly change their minds in re- 
gard to this matter. Indeed, the thought fairly 
considered ought to convince any intelligent 
person of the impropriety of this frequent and 
excessive feeding. No one will contend for a 
moment that an infant can thrive unless it is 
properly fed, but this by no means implies that 
it must be stuffed a dozen times every twenty- 
four hours. Three meals a day will be found 
ample to satisfy all demands of the infant and 
insure a healthy, vigorous growth of the sys- 
tem ; feeding it oftener than this is not only 
superfluous, but absolutely injurious. If, how- 
ever, it is found after a fair trial that the in- 
fant does not thrive or gain in weight as it 
should do, a fourth meal may be tried, A 



HOW TO FEED THE BABY. 133 

healthy child will gain in weight from four to 
six ounces per week, and if this ratio be main- 
tained right along, no fears need be entertained 

for its welfare. But if little or no gain is made, 
the food is either not suited to the child's wants, 
or the child itself is not right, and needs the 
care of a judicious physician. The fact of an 
infant fussing and hunting around as if after 
something to eat is by no means a proof that 
it needs food ; it is often thirsty and wants 
water, which should be given to it frequently. 
There is every reason to believe, as we have 
endeavored to show in a previous article, that 
the cause of the many gastric disorders among 
infants, and which sweep so many of them out 
of existence every year, is due almost solely to 
excessive and too frequent feeding. The infant's 
stomach — like the adult's — requires seasons of 
rest, and if this law is violated, disease will 
surely follow. Many an infant is restless, fret- 
ful, unable to sleep, in a word, made sick by 
this continual stuffing on the part of mother or 
nurse, notwithstanding it springs from the 
kindest promptings of the human heart. But 
we are told that the infant " frets and worries," 
and can only be quieted by giving it something 
to eat. The overfed baby always has a morbid 
appetite, and will seldom refuse food so long as 
it can swallow ; like the adult dyspeptic it ex- 
periences temporary relief by the ingestion of 



134 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

food, and hence it becomes restful for a time, 
only to suffer the greater in the end. 

Dyspepsia of Infants. — It is sad, indeed, to 
think of the new-born infant — perhaps not a 
week old — suffering from that fearful malady, 
dyspepsia. And sadder still is it to realize that 
parents are responsible to a very great extent 
for this sickness and suffering to which these 
helpless infants are liable. For we have every 
reason to believe that it is the result of too fre- 
quent and excessive feeding, which it is in the 
power of parents to control. And since it has 
been abundantly proved that an infant can be 
well nourished on three meals a day with the 
happiest results, no argument is needed to 
show that more is necessary. And as the cram- 
ming system has been long and thoroughly 
tried, with what results it is unnecessary to re- 
peat, we would appeal to every true-hearted 
mother to try the " new departure," and, our 
word for it, you will never have cause to regret 
it. Begin as soon as the baby is born — with 
the first meal — start right — for if you wait un- 
til bad habits are formed, you may have some 
trouble in establishing your rightful prerogative. 
Remember, the infant begins to take in the situ- 
ation of things with the first breath of life, and 
that an unwise or indiscreet nurse may, in a 
very short time, teach a child habits that may 
prove not only troublesome, but very exacting. 



CHAPTER XII. 
HAND-FEEDING- OF BABIES. 

Diversified Views — Proffered Advice — Ignorance 
on the Subject — Variety of Foods — Substitutes 
for Mother's Milk — Cow's Milk, How to Prepare 
— Wheaten Gruel — How to Give the Baby Food 
— Position When Taking Food — How to Wean 
the Baby — Dentition — Cleanliness — Ventilation 
— Tobacco Smoke, Poisonous Effects of. 



The mother's milk, as already stated, is the 
natural food for the infant, but, unfortunately, 
it often happens that she is unable to furnish 
breast-milk for her child. Many infants have 
to be fed artificially from the first, as their 
mothers are utterly unable to suckle them at 
all. Where disease of the parent exists, such 
as scrofula, consumption, cancer, insanity, 
syphilis, and other dangerous hereditary com- 
plaints, the infant ought not to derive its nour- 
ishment from this source of contamination, 
and hence a substitute must be found. 

There is perhaps no question upon which 
the profession as well as mothers and nurses 
are more at variance than the character of 

(135) 



136 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

the food to be given in place of breast-milk. 
Not long since there appeared in a Philadel- 
phia newspaper an article signed "A Young 
Mother/' asking what she should do to save 
her baby ; being obliged to feed it by hand it 
could not retain or digest milk or cream. The 
editor offered a prize of ten dollars to any one 
giving the best answer. This appeal brought 
out over a hundred responses from mothers, 
nurses, grandmothers, doctors, druggists and 
others. Some advised pure milk from one 
cow; some took it from two cows, and others 
from a herd; some advised skimmed milk; 
others the same diluted with water; some one- 
third water, some two-thirds; others cream 
and water; others milk with cornstarch, barley 
water, oatmeal, arrowroot, lime water, brandy, 
cognac, port wine and lager beer ; others rec- 
ommend Mellen's food, prepared granum, con- 
densed milk, Valentine's meat-juice, Scotch oats 
essence, and others goat's milk and whisky. 
One writer says : " Condensed milk, lime water 
and Grove's anodyne are great for babies, and 
if they do not thrive on these they won't thrive 
on anything ;" others, to relieve the little suf- 
ferers and to " keep peace in the family," advise 
fennel-seed tea, catnip tea, peppermint tea, 
whisky and covering the stomach with spice 
plasters. Some of the therapeutic philosophers 



HAND-FEEDING OF BABIES. 137 

advised a little asafoetida, bicarbonate of soda, 
saccharated pepsin, lactic acid, subnitrate of 
bismuth, oxalate of cerium, chlorodyne, pare- 
goric and good whisky when certain gastric 
disturbances arise. 

Here, then, we have a specimen of the una- 
nimity and wisdom displayed in the feeding 
and rearing of infants in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine. 
There is one notable feature in all this prof- 
fered advice from mothers, nurses and doctors, 
and that is the unanimous agreement, with two 
or three exceptions, that the baby should be. 
stuffed " every two hours ;" one mother says it 
should be " fed every two hours, day and night." 
Another says, " Give plenty of milk. I give my 
babies a quart of the best milk every day for 
two months, and then two quarts thereafter, 
besides rice water and two teaspoonfuls of 
Husband's magnesia every other day." The 
magnesia, no doubt, is a necessity to purge off 
and help get rid of the surplus or excess of milk. 

With such treatment is it at all strange that 
one-third of the babies die before they are a 
year old? The strange part to us is that two- 
thirds do not die instead of only one-third. But 
babies are very tenacious of life, and will " pull 
through " sometimes under the most unfavor- 
able circumstances, as if preordained to be the 
" survival of the fittest." 



138 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

A Substitute for Mother's Milk. — When 
the mother's milk is out of the question we 
know of no better substitute than cow's milk, 
which will be found to agree more generally 
with the infant than any other article of food. 
But there are several points to be considered 
in the selection of cow's milk. It will be better 
to take the milk from the product of several 
cows rather than that from one, as it is likely 
to be more uniform in character. For a new- 
born infant the cows should be fresh, or nearly 
so, and they should be carefully fed and cared 
for. Cow's milk is slightly alkaline, but some- 
times when the cow has been milking several 
months, it becomes acid. To test this, take a 
narrow strip of blue litmus paper and dip one 
end into the milk; if in a short time the paper 
turns red the milk is acid and unfit for a young 
child. Good milk will turn red litmus paper 
blue. 

To Prepare Cow's Milk. — For many years 
we advised pure fresh milk from one cow, 
diluted one-third water, for a three months' 
babe, but of later years we have used the 
preparation suggested by Prof. S. P. Sharpless, 
who is high authority on this subject, and we 
find it eminently successful. " The best way to 
prepare cow's milk for a young child," says 
Prof. Sharpless, " is to allow the milk to stand 



HAND-FEEDING OF BABIES. 139 

a few hours until a portion of the cream has 
raised ; then carefulty remove the cream. At 
each meal take the proper potion, place the 
vessel containing it in a dish of hot water for 
a sufficient time to warm it, sweeten slightly 
with sugar of milk — never with cane sugar, 
as this is almost certain to sour the stomach. 
No definite rule can be laid down for the 
amount of food necessary for the million; 
but it will not vary much from a pint for an 
infant of six months. This amount, divided 
into three meals and given at regular intervals, 
say at 6 a.m., 12 m. and 6 p.m., will be found 
to give the best results. Never feed the child 
during the night, for that is the time set apart 
for rest for all the organs in the body. As the 
child grows older the quantity of milk may be 
gradually increased, so that at the end of 
twelve months it should take about a pint and 
a half daily. Never refuse an infant water, but 
give even the youngest a few teaspoonfuls fre- 
quently between meals. Babies often wish the 
breast or bottle because they are thirsty and 
not hungry*." 

Wheat Gruel. — If cow's milk cannot be 
had that suits the child, then we must look for 
a substitute, and in the long list that is pre- 
sented we know of none that is so likely to suit 
in all cases as gruel made from fresh, unbolted 



140 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

wheat flour. Take a small cupful, stir it in a 
quart of cold water, and boil gently for three- 
quarters of an hour (use a water-bath or farina- 
kettle, otherwise it will require constant stir- 
ring), when it will be reduced to a pint; strain 
this through a closely woven cloth to take out 
all the coarse parts, sweeten slightly with sugar 
of milk, and add a pinch of salt. If too thick 
to pass through a nursing-tube (if that be used) 
dilute with a little warm water, or, in some 
cases, with a few teaspoonfuls of fresh milk. 
We have known many babies raised on this 
preparation of food who had every appearance 
of being at death's door, and could not retain 
or digest cow's milk of any kind. We can 
recommend this diet, notwithstanding all that 
is said against the use of farinaceous food for 
young babies. 

How to give the Baby Food. — A hand- 
fed baby should receive its food out of a glass 
or china cup from a teaspoon. The objections 
urged against this method of feeding babies 
are of little consequence in comparison with 
the advantages which it has over "•bottle-feed- 
ing." It is less trouble, less expense, and far 
better for the babies. There is not the same 
temptation to feed the child so often when the 
food is given in this way, while the trouble of 
cleaning and taking care of nursing-tubes, 
gum nipples and "baby-bottles" is avoided. 



hand-feeding of babies. 141 

Position of the Child When Taking 
Food. — A child should not receive its nourish- 
ment while lying down, but should be sup- 
ported upon the arm or lap of the person feed- 
ing it, in an easy semi-erect position, which is the 
natural one; it is pleasanter for the child, there 
is less risk of strangulation, and besides there is 
an anatomical reason for this. The practice of 
dandling or jolting infants soon after taking 
food is very improper and should not be in- 
dulged in. 

How to Wean the Baby. — In discussing 
the conditions to be observed in weaning the 
baby, we would lay down the following rules 
as essential to the preservation of the child's 
health and that of the mother: 

1. Under ordinary circumstances the child 
shall have cut at least eight of its teeth before 
the attempt is made to wean it. 

2. The child should not be weaned until it 
has become accustomed to taking other kinds 
of nourishment. 

3. After the process of weaning is decided 
upon, it is better to execute it gradually. The 
practice of suddenly taking the child from the 
breast is not only cruel, but is attended w T ith 
danger to both mother and child. Cow's milk 
will be found the best substitute for the 
mother's milk. We would commence the 



142 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

weaning by giving the child mother's milk for 
breakfast, cow's milk for dinner, and mother's 
milk for supper ; this method should be con- 
tinued for several days ; then give cow's milk 
for breakfast and dinner, and mother's milk for 
supper; continue this for five or six days, and 
then withhold the breakfast milk altogether. 

4. Teach the child to receive the milk out of 
a cup or glass, and not out of a nursing-bottle. 

5. A child ought not to be weaned while it 
is suffering much from the irritation of teeth- 
ing or any acute disease, unless there are con- 
siderations on the part of the mother which 
render it necessary. 

6. As a general rule, the child should be 
weaned when it is about eighteen months old. 

Dentition. — The eruption of the first teeth is 
very irregular; it takes place approximately in 
the following order: The two middle lower front 
teeth make their appearance generally when 
the child is about six months old. In three or 
four weeks afterwards the middle incisors above 
come through ; then the two lateral incisors be- 
low, followed by the two above. In about two 
months after these the first molars (jaw teeth) 
are cut — two below and two above. After 
another respite of about two months the two 
stomach and two eye teeth show themselves j 
and finally, at the age of about two years, 



HAND-FEEDING OF BABIES. 143 

the four back jaw teeth — two above and two 
below — make their appearance ; this com- 
pletes the first dentition, consisting of twenty 
teeth. 

It will be observed that the process of teeth- 
ing is accomplished in groups ; and the child 
should not be weaned during the eruption of 
one of these groups. And, where it can be done, 
the cooler months should be preferred for mak- 
ing this change of dietary. 

Hygienic Precautions ; Cleanliness, Ven- 
tilation, etc. — Much has been said and written 
in regard to keeping all nursing-tubes and 
food-vessels clean and sweet, the importance of 
personal cleanliness, and the breathing of pure 
atmospheric air ; these all are necessary for the 
preservation of health and the enjoyment of 
human happiness. Breathing impure air will 
poison the system as surely as eating impure 
food ; one is just as detrimental to health as 
the other. 

Tobacco Smoke. — No one can breathe the 
foul odors generated by filth, or an atmosphere 
polluted by tobacco smoke, and not suffer to a 
greater or less extent. All the diseases of in- 
fancy are aggravated or rendered more malig- 
nant by the habitual breathing of impure air. 
There is overwhelming evidence to prove that 
infants especially — who are more susceptible to 



144 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

all impressions than grown persons — are often 
seriously injured by breathing an atmosphere 
contaminated with tobacco smoke. Not long 
since we were consulted by a young mother in 
regard to her baby, which was then eighteen 
months old. From birth it had been healthy 
and bright until within a few months, and now 
it was pale, emaciated, languid, had a poor ap- 
petite, was fretful, restless, and had a slight 
cough. The father was a mechanic and was 
seldom at home except during the night. We 
could not understand the child's illness and 
our failure to cure it. At a subsequent visit we 
observed that the air in the room where the 
child was, smelt strongly of tobacco smoke. 
The father had been out of work for two or 
three months and at home most of the time. 
He was in the habit of frequently smoking in 
the room where the child stayed. The odor of 
tobacco in the room at once suggested to our 
mind the cause of the child's sickness, and we 
said to the mother : Mr. S. must not smoke in 
the house any more where baby is, " for we be- 
lieve it is suffering from the poisonous effects of 
tobacco." Just then Mr. S., who had stepped 
out, came in, and Mrs. S. read the " riot 
act " to him, then gave the house a good airing, 
which had a most salutary effect upon the child, 
as it soon began to improve, and was not long, 



HAND-FEEDING OF BABIES. 145 

as a consequence, in regaining its wonted con- 
dition of health. 

In a recent number of " The People's Health 
Journal" Dr. Thos. G. Roberts, in an article on 
"The Use of Tobacco," mentions the case of a 
little girl who came under his professional 
care, which puzzled him for several weeks be- 
fore he was enabled to find out what was the 
cause of the child's illness. She " had a poor 
appetite, was nervous and constantly ailing, 
though at no time seriously sick." After a 
time he learned that a " relative of the child 
often smoked in the house where the little 
patient lived." He finally concluded that 
tobacco was the cause of the illness, and had 
her removed to a place where no tobacco was 
used, and she " promptly and permanently re- 
covered her health." Dr. Roberts cites a case 
taken from the " Pall Mall Gazette." The story 
is told by the mother, and we give the essential 
points in her own words : " I have one child 
not yet two years old, a fair-haired, blue-eyed 
pet, who was as healthy as the birds when she 
was born." " For a year past she has ailed 
mysteriously." " I could not say she was ill, 
yet she was never well." She had no appetite, 
constantly complained of sickness and disor- 
dered digestion. " I took her away by myself 
to a country town for two months. After the first 



146 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

week she flourished like a young bay-tree ; ate 
and drank and laughed and played, and I was 
kept forever enlarging her garments. One 
week after our return home all the old symptoms 
returned ; loss of appetite, dark lines under the 
eyes, restless days and sleepless nights. I was 
about to take her away again when she caught 
a severe cold and was confined to one room for 
three weeks. She recovered her general health 
completely while shut in the nursery"; appetite, 
spirits, sleep, all returned. She joined us down- 
stairs again, as usual, and in less than a week 
sickness and all the old symptoms returned. 
For nearly three months I racked my brain to 
find out the cause of this trouble. Suddenly 
my husband was summoned into the country. 
A week after he went the child began to eat 
with a relish, and in a fortnight she was her 
own happy self, full of notions and spirits. 
' Her father never saw her like this/ I re- 
marked one evening when she was so merry 
and glad, and then the truth flashed upon me : 
it was his tobacco that upset her. He has 
been away a month, and the child has gained 
in flesh and is the merriest, healthiest little 
mortal possible. He always smoked after 
breakfast and after lunch, with her in the 
room, neither of us dreaming that it was in- 
jurious to her. But for his providential ab- 



HAND-FEEDING OF BABIES. 147 

sence this time, I doubt if it ever would have 
occurred to me, and we might have lost our 
darling, for she was wasting sadly. This is a 
true, unvarnished statement, which my nurse 
can corroborate." 

There is no doubt that thousands of little 
ones are annually slaughtered in the homes 
of their friends by this narcotic poison. The 
smoker or chewer is so filled with its efflu- 
via that he can be detected by it the moment 
he enters the room. All who come near him 
suffer in their senses and in their health to a 
greater or less extent. Many delicate infants, 
and grown persons as well, are poisoned even 
to death by the smoke and odor of tobacco 
used by persons around them. Recently we 
visited a young man who was suffering from a 
pulmonary affection ; he was lying on a couch 
in a small room and was coughing almost con- 
tinuously ; his father sat near by smoking his 
pipe, while the room was literally full of the 
fumes of tobacco smoke. Coming in out of the 
pure, fresh air of heaven, we felt as if we could 
not live in such an atmosphere, and immedi- 
ately threw open the windows. Mr. B. said he 
was " afraid Johnnie would take cold." We 
told him we were " afraid he would suffocate/' 
as the air in the room was not fit for a human 
being to breathe. 



148 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

It is wonderful what an amount of ignorance 
and stupidity is shown in regard to this mat- 
ter by persons ordinarily intelligent, and we 
can only account for it from the well-known 
fact that the use of this narcotic poison stupe- 
fies and imbrutes those who are under its in- 
fluence. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THE EARL Y ED UCA T10N OF CHILDREN. 

Objects of Education — Teach Obedience — Putting 
Children to Bed— The Book of Nature — Evil 
Associations— Sexual Knowledge — Where Did 
the Baby Come From — Evil Effects of Alco- 
hol — The Tobacco Habit — The Opium Bondage. 



The moment the child is born and opens 
his eyes to this world his education begins, 
and it is at this early period of his existence 
that he should be taught the true lessons of 
life. " Train up a child in the way he should 
go, and when he is old he will not depart from 
it," was the saying of a wise man ; hence the 
importance of starting aright in this primary 
school where the first lessons of life are taught, 
which are of such vital importance to the pres- 
ent and eternal welfare of the individual. 

Objects of Education. — The principal ob- 
jects of education are : to teach a child useful 
knowledge, to eradicate his evil propensities, 
to bring out his noble qualities, to make him 
a useful citizen and a worthy member of so- 
ciety, and last, though not least, a Christian 
(149) 



150 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

not only in name, but in reality. A child's 
intellect is educated or developed by being 
taught truths by others, and by his learning 
or storing the memory with various kinds of 
knowledge derived from the senses. His train- 
ing and teaching are always going on ; every- 
thing he sees, hears or does is a part of his 
education and enters largely into the forma- 
tion of his character. The most important 
duty which parents have to perform in this 
world is to train and properly educate their 
children ; and society has no higher duty to 
perform, and none more important, so far as 
the welfare and preservation of our race is con- 
cerned, than to look after and care for the 
rising generation. 

Teach Obedience. — Among the first lessons 
taught a child should be that of obedience. 
" Children, obey your parents/ 7 is a command 
of great significance, not only as affecting their 
safety and health, but also their moral charac- 
ter as well. It is the first yielding of unre- 
strained will to rightful authority, and as such 
has an immense significance. The child should 
be required to do his parents' bidding, and 
never to feel that he can disobey them in 
the smallest degree. Gentleness and firmness 
should characterize all the words and actions 
of the parent while giving commands which it 



EARLY EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 151 

is expected the child will obey. By pursuing 
a determined course in this respect, obedience 
will become a pleasure to the child instead of 
a burden, and he will come to love and respect 
his parents, which he can never do if allowed 
to disobey and follow 7 his own inclinations. 

Putting Children to Bed.— " Not with a 
reproof for any of that day's sins of omission 
or commission. Take any other time but bed- 
time for that. If you ever heard a little creat- 
ure sighing or sobbing in its sleep, you could 
never do this. Seal their closing eyelids with 
a kiss and a blessing. The time will come, all 
too soon, when they will lay their heads upon 
their pillows lacking both. Let them, then, at 
least, have this sweet memory of happy child- 
hood, of which no future sorrow or trouble can 
rob them. Give them their rosy youth. Nor 
need this involve wild license. The judicious 
parent will not so mistake my meaning. If 
you have ever met the man or the woman 
whose eyes have suddenly filled when a little 
child has crept trustingly to its mother's 
breast, you may have seen one in whose 
child's home ' Dignity ' and l Severity ' stood 
where 'Love' and 'Pity' should have been. 
Too much indulgence has ruined thousands 
of children, too much love not one." — Fannie 
Fern. 



152 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

Bribing Children. — Parents should never 
bribe the child in order to make him obey, 
but require him to yield obedience as a duty 
and because it is right. This is the only solid 
basis upon which to build a moral, upright 
character. Neither should he be coaxed nor 
promised rewards nor threatened with punish- 
ment to induce him to do right; all such in- 
centives are selfish and tend to belittle and 
lower the true standard of character. But, on 
the contrary, begin at the earliest possible mo- 
ment, even before the child is born, to instil 
into his life a love of right, purity and virtue ; 
then will he go forth armed with the shield of 
righteousness, safe from the assaults of passion 
and vice, so long as he adheres to noble prin- 
ciples. 

The Book of Nature the Child's Primer. 
— The perceptive faculties of the infant are 
brought into requisition $t a very early period 
of life, and he is a very active if not an accurate 
observer of things. By taking advantage of 
his observing and inquisitive disposition to 
direct his attention to natural and familiar 
objects, a vast .amount of useful knowledge 
may be communicated to him at an early age 
without endangering his mental faculties. The 
mother should be his principal teacher, and 
the canopy of heaven the main roof over his 



EARLY EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 153 

school-room ; most of his lessons should be 
taught out in the open air, while the fresh 
breezes are blowing and God's blessed sunshine 
is beaming upon him. The Book of Nature 
should be his primer; and the green fields 
and trees, and mosses, and beautiful flowers — 
the violets, and daisies, and buttercups, and 
forget-me-nots, and wild roses — these, together 
with an infinite variety of birds, robins, and 
thrushes, and bobolinks, and orioles, black- 
birds, and the little wrens, and a thousand 
others ; their habits, their customs, their his- 
tories and dwelling-places — all furnish ma- 
terial for his instruction more profitable than 
any school-books at his early age can do ; and 
such instruction, imparted by the mother's lov- 
ing voice and affectionate manner, will make 
a deeper and more lasting impression upon 
him than anything he may learn from the 
books of man. Little boys and girls who are 
taught these useful lessons from Nature while 
they are young, and while their hearts are 
tender, will not be likely when they grow up 
to hurt or kill the little innocent birds or 
abuse any of the poor dumb animals with 
which they may have to deal. 

Evil Associations. — As already intimated, 
the early training of a child will have an im- 
portant bearing upon his future character. If 



154 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

he is taught to be honest, truthful and pure 
while he is young, when he grows up he will 
be fortified and strengthened to resist the temp- 
tations of vice and immorality which will beset 
his path on every side. But if he gets his 
training on the streets and around the grog- 
shops, he will be sure to fall a victim to intem- 
perance, vicious habits and sensuality. Parents 
and teachers, therefore, should guard well the 
avenues by which evil may approach the young 
mind, and erect barriers against vice by careful 
instruction and chaste examples. Protect him 
against evil associates, for it is among these 
that the first lessons in bad language are learned, 
and which are soon followed by impure thoughts 
and impure actions. 

Happy Homes. — Make the child's home a 
happy one ; make it so attractive that he will 
prefer it to any other place. Give him a pleas- 
ant room in which to sleep, and supply him 
with good books, not love-sick novels, but such 
as will furnish the mind with food and pure 
thoughts. Cultivate music in the home ; it 
has an inspiring and elevating influence upon 
both young and old ; all children love music, 
and if they cannot find it at home will be 
likely to seek it elsewhere. The inquiring 
minds of children will be occupied in some 
way, and it is of the utmost importance that 



EARLY EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 155 

they should be early filled with thoughts that 
will lead them to pure and noble deeds ; only 
in this way can the foundation be laid for that 
purity of character which alone will insure 
purity of life. 

Scolding. — A great deal of injury is done 
to children by their parents' scolding. It sours 
their temper, so that one thorough scolding 
prepares the way for two or three more. The 
more you scold the more you will have to 
scold, because you will become crosser, and your 
children likewise. 

Scolding alienates the hearts of your chil- 
dren. Depend upon it, they will not love you 
as well after you have berated them as they 
did before. You may approach them with 
firmness and decision, and they will feel the 
justice of your conduct and will love you, 
notwithstanding all; but they hate scolding. 
It stirs up the bad blood, while it discloses 
your weakness, and lowers you in their estima- 
tion. Their little hearts should be melted and 
molded with voices of kindness, so that they 
may go to their slumbers with thoughts of 
love stealing around their souls and whispering 
peace. 

Sexual Knowledge. — Another most essen- 
tial part of a child's early education is to teach 
him the relation which the Creator has estab- 



156 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

lished between the sexes. Hitherto this part 
of his early education has been almost totally 
neglected, the subject being regarded as too 
delicate or too sacred for his reception. Hence, 
he has been left to the tender mercy of ignorant 
servants and associates to give him this impor- 
tant information, and we see what the result 
has been. Certain it is that the stealthy ap- 
proaches of vice have beer; fostered by the 
existing system. Now, as the child will obtain 
this knowledge from some source or other, it is 
infinitely better for him to receive it from his 
parents or some trustworthy friend, instead of 
being taught it by some vicious person. 

The subject is one that should be handled 
with the greatest delicacy of expression, so as 
to avoid rousing morbid curiosity or stimulat- 
ing the passions, special care being taken to 
train the child so that he will associate with 
the name of woman only pure, chaste and noble 
thoughts. The inquisitive mind and lively 
imagination of childhood are easily corrupted, 
while the seeds of vice will germinate and 
flourish in the soul and bear their hideous fruit 
in later years. 

Where Does the Baby Come From ? — Let 
no parent neglect, then, the sacred duty of 
teaching the child the mysteries of generation 
and the origin of life so far as these are known. 
The child will not long credit the story of the 



EARLY EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 157 

"doctor bringing the baby in his coat pocket," 
or its being "sent by angels." It will be better 
to tell the exact truth about this as of every- 
thing else the child has to learn in the world, 
of its sorrow and sin, of its joy and love. Don't 
put it off by telling it not to " ask such ques- 
tions ;" you are only telling it to go ask some 
one else, for it is bound to know all about it 
sooner or later. How much safer it will be for 
the child to receive this truth from the pure 
and loving lips of the father or mother in whom 
it can confide. Take its little hand, then, in 
yours, and explain to it that everything in the 
universe is created male and female. Not only 
men and women, but all animals, all birds, all 
fishes, and insects ; even the trees and flowers. 
Every new life has its origin in the union of 
the sexes — male and female — and by this 
sexual union the male sperm comes in contact 
with the female ovum or egg, and a new being 
is created. Soon after conception, this minute, 
germ — so small that it cannot be seen with the 
naked eye — takes up its abode in the mother's 
womb ; here it is nourished by the mother's 
blood, and grows until it is too large for the 
little house w^here it has been staying for the 
last nine months, and it moves out and comes 
to live with us. This is the simple story about 
the baby, and " where it comes from." It is the 
w^ay all animals that live in this world, such 



158 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

as little pigs, puppies, calves, lambs, etc., are 
" bred and born." 

Teach the child, then, at an early period these 
important lessons concerning life and the re- 
lationship of the sexes. Parents or guardians 
are the proper persons to do this ; do not turn 
the child over to some one else to give this in- 
formation, if you do, it will most likely obtain 
it from vulgar schoolmates or through some 
other immoral or degrading channel, which 
you may have occassion to regret when it is too 
late. If our young people were made properly 
acquainted with the physiology of the sexual 
functions they would be far less likely to form 
habits of self-abuse, or be led astray by other 
corrupting influences. 



THE EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 

Another important part of a child's early 
education is to teach him to abstain from the use 
of alcoholic liquors. As already observed, the 
future character of an individual depends 
largely on his early training. If parents would 
have their child grow up pure, healthy and wise ; 
if they would have him become a blessing in- 
stead of a curse; if they would save him from cor- 
ruption and vice ; if they would save him from a 
drunkard's career and a drunkard's grave, they 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 159 

must teach him to keep clear of the contaminat- 
ing and seductive influences of alcoholic liquors . 
He should be taught by precept and example 
to shun the intoxicating cup, for " at last it 
stingeth like a serpent and biteth like an 
adder ;" once imbibed, it may beget in him 
passions which he will never be able to control, 
and may become a curse to him as it is a 
desolating bane to society. If all parents would 
abstain from intoxicating liquors, and teach 
their children to do likewise, we would soon 
witness a glorious change. We should see 
every home made safer and happier ; we should 
see the poor-houses empty and the jails desolate ; 
we should see thousands of young men and 
maidens, instead of becoming victims of in- 
temperance, delighting themselves in doing 
good and making others happy ; we should see 
the very earth grow brighter and heaven come 
nearer, as the dark clouds of this national curse 
would take their departure. 

But the practical question is, how shall we 
bring about this desirable result ? So long as 
people drink w^e shall have drunkenness ; let the 
habit be once formed and the victim is seldom 
reclaimed. Prevention is our only cure ; and 
here, as everywhere in this erring and wicked 
world, we shall find " ignorance the evil, and 
knowledge the remedy." Our only faith and 



160 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

hope of banishing this evil are by placing before 
the world, and especially before the rising gen- 
eration, the exact truth respecting the action of 
alcohol on the human system. 

For centuries past some of the most 
erroneous and dangerous doctrines have been 
promulgated by the medical profession, and 
others, respecting the action and value of 
alcohol, and which have been the principal 
means of fostering and perpetuating intemper- 
ance. Rolla A. Law, a distinguished advocate 
of temperance, declared that in his experience 
with the rum fiend he found " alcoholic medi- 
cation the chief obstacle in his pathway," and 
the " medical profession the stronghold of in- 
temperance." And Dr. Juett, another eminent 
advocate, gave testimony to the same effect. 

Everywhere the people are indoctrinated in 
the belief that alcohol is a " blood nutriment," 
that it " promotes digestion," that it " supports 
vitality," that it is a a fuel food/' and that it is 
the " conservator of health." Now, if this doc- 
trine be true, we can see no reason why alcohol 
should not be used secundum artem; indeed, a 
very large class of our fellow-citizens, recog- 
nizing these claims, do use it, believing it to be 
the conservator of health and the milk of hu- 
man life. Many keep it on their tables, use it 
with their meals and train their children to 
believe in its magic powers. 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 161 

The London Lancet, which is good authority 
on the subject, in answer to the question, 
" What quantity of alcohol maybe taken daily 
with advantage ?" replied, that, " being both a 
food and a stimulant, two glasses a day might 
be taken with advantage" In a long article 
published in the New York Times, a few years 
ago, the writer, who professed to give " The last 
word of physiology to date " respecting the 
value of alcohol, said : " For those who are not 
blessed with total unconsciousness of a stomach 
and especially for elderly or delicate persons, 
digestion is made easier and more complete by 
the moderate use of wine or whisky taken at 
meals." As to the quantity, he says, " Dr. 
Parks put the limit of usefulness at from one 
to one and a half ounces of alcohol daily, a 
limit corresponding roughly to a pint of claret 
or other light wine, and twice as much of 
beer." 

The above quotations are fair specimens of 
the alcohol doctrine as taught in the medical 
journals and text-books at the present day. 
And, we repeat, if it is correct that alcohol is 
a healthy food, if it will give strength to the 
weak and enfeebled body, if it will promote 
digestion and furnish heat for the system, then 
nearly everybody ought to use it, for nine- 
tenths of the people are suffering from a con- 



162 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

dition which calls for this supposed elixir vitse. 
But let us carry the case to the Court of Fact, 
and let impartial reason decide this alcoholic 
food puzzle — " Three in one, and one in three." 
In presenting the case to the court, the first 
question is, What is alcohol ? And what are 
its effects on the human system ? In chemical 
language, alcohol is a hydrated oxide of ethyl. 
It is a clear, volatile, inflammable liquid, and is 
the intoxicating principle in all spirituous 
liquors. It is nowhere to be found in nature, 
in anything which the Creator has made 
endowed with organism and life ; it is a device 
of man, the offspring of death, evolved through 
the destructive process of decomposition. It is a 
narcotic poison, according to Orfila, Christinson, 
Taylor and Pereira; while others class it 
among the " caustic-irritant " poisons. When 
taken in large doses it destroys life very 
quickly. Persons have been known to die 
almost immediately after drinking from half a 
pint to a pint of ardent spirits. Dr. Percy, an 
eminent French surgeon, gave to a spaniel 
bitch two and a quarter ounces of alcohol. She 
immediately uttered a plaintive cry and fell 
helpless to the ground. " Never," says he, 
" did I see every spark of vitality more effect- 
ually and instantaneously extinguished. In 
less than two minutes not a single pulsation of 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 163 

the heart could be felt." Further experiments 
show that " it is inimical to everything that 
has life, either animal or vegetable." When 
11 applied to the roots of plants or trees it de- 
stroys them in a short time." If it is taken into 
the mouth and held for a few minutes, it in- 
flames and blisters the mucous membrane and 
deadens the sense of taste. If a piece of rag be 
saturated with it and applied to the skin, pre- 
venting evaporation by means of an oil-silk 
bandage, in a short time the part becomes hot, 
painful, inflamed and blistered as if burned. 
These experiments prove that alcohol is an 
irritant poison" 

When large doses are taken internally, the 
primary effect is to cause excitement of the 
nervous system, increased frequency of the 
pulse and a livelier flow of ideas, which are 
soon followed by a state of impaired percep- 
tion and motor power; these are in turn fol- 
lowed by insensibility, unconsciousness and 
all the phenomena which accompany a fit of 
apoplexy. In all such cases the temperature 
of the body will be found to have fallen from 
4° to 6° below the normal. After death all 
the large vascular organs are found engorged 
with blood, which will furnish alcohol by dis- 
tillation. Alfred Swayne Taylor, the eminent 
toxicologist, says : "The stomach has been found 



164 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous 
membrane being of a bright red or of a dark- 
brown color." " The brain and its membranes 
are congested, and, in some instances, there is 
effusion of blood or serum beneath the inner 
membrane, and in some cases the lungs and 
heart are found engorged with dark blood." 

These are a few of the prominent symptoms 
induced and the morbid conditions observed 
upon the bodies of those who have suffered 
and died from the effects of large doses of al- 
cohol. They clearly demonstrate the terrible 
results produced by this poison when taken 
into the human system. And the thought 
uppermost in everj^ intelligent mind must be, 
w 7 hy this deadly poison should be regarded as a 
"blood nutrient" and a " supporter of vitality." 
No such claims are made for opium, belladonna, 
hyoscyamus, stramonium, tobacco or any other 
narcotic poison ; why then for alcohol ? 

Now, to understand the nature and functions 
of food, we must first understand the human 
body that needs food. And by the aid of chem- 
istry and physiology we arrive at this knowl- 
edge. Chemically examined, we find the hu- 
man body composed of a variety of compound 
substances, which are capable of being reduced 
to simpler forms. If we take a piece of human 
flesh we find it yields albumen, fibrine, gelatine, 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 165 

fatty matters, salts of soda, potash, lime, mag- 
nesia and iron ; while the solids, as bone and 
other parts, contain, besides, a large percentage 
of gelatine, phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, 
filiate of lime, phosphate of magnesia and a 
small portion of chloride of sodium. We also 
find that water enters largely into all the tis- 
sues of the body ; it is the vehicle for convey- 
ing the nutritive material to all parts of the 
system and removing the products of waste as 
fast as formed. 

Such, in brief, are the materials that compose 
the human body ; and any article claiming to 
be food must contain one or more of these sub- 
stances entering into its composition, or it must 
contain those elements in such a state of com- 
bination that the system can appropriate them 
to its own use. It is not what is taken into the 
stomach that nourishes the body, but what can 
be digested and worked up into living tissue 
and repair the waste that is continually going 
on in the vital organism. What, then, are 
those physiological operations which take 
place in the body that necessitate the use of 
food ? The first in importance is that of assimi- 
lation, the process by which the body is nour- 
ished and repaired by food suitable for that 
purpose. 

Another is that of combustion, by which the 



166 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

body is preserved at a given temperature, 98J 
degrees. 

Another physiological process is that of dis- 
integration, or the pulling down and change of 
structure that are continually going on within 
the body. We cannot utter a word or move a 
muscle but we wear away some portion of this 
delicate and complicated machine. And to 
repair this constant waste it is necessary to 
supply the system with new material from 
without. 

Then again we have the process of elimina- 
tion, by means of which those worn-out par- 
ticles that can no longer be used for the pur- 
pose of life, and the retention of which would 
be a source of danger and disease, are expelled 
from the system. Every moment we live Na- 
ture is engaged in burning up or casting out 
the product of disintegration whereby the body 
is kept pure and healthy. 

Having endeavored to explain the compo- 
sition of the body and the physiological opera- 
tions which take place necessitating food, we 
are prepared to inquire, Is alcohol food? And 
under this term we include all intoxicating 
liquors, because it is wholly on account of the 
alcohol they contain that such drinks are used; 
take it away and no one would think of drink- 
ing the disgusting residue. 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 167 

Among the principal alcoholic beverages are 
brandy, whisky, rum, gin, wine, beer, ale, 
porter and cider. They are all essentially the 
same, the difference being only one of degree. 
For example, an imperial pint of brandy con- 
tains 9J ounces of water, 10J ounces of alco- 
hol and 80 grains of burnt sugar, while rum 
contains 5 ounces of water and 15 ounces of 
alcohol. Port wine contains 16 ounces of water, 
4 ounces of alcohol, 1 ounce of sugar and 80 
grains of tartaric acid. Beer contains about 6 
per cent, of alcohol, the balance water, a little 
gum, sugar and starch, which it holds in solu- 
tion. These drinks contain besides the above 
a little coloring and flavoring matter. But do 
they contain the constituent elements of the 
body ? Certainly not in any available form. 
They have no iron or salt for the blood, no 
gluten, phosphorus or lime for the bones, and 
no albumen — a substance which is the basis 
of ever)' living organism. 

How, then, can an article that is destitute of 
these essential elements nourish and repair the 
waste of the body ? Xow, it is a distinctive 
feature of food that it is used up in the system. 
In passing through the various changes it pro- 
duces force and heat, is then reduced to lower 
and simpler forms and cast out as effete matter. 
But alcohol, when taken into the system, is 



168 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

eliminated from its precincts in the same con- 
dition as it enters. In proof of this it has been 
recollected from the breath, from the perspira- 
tion, from the secretions of the kidneys, and 
from the milk of nursing mothers who drank 
it. And, furthermore, chemistry has ransacked 
the innermost recesses of the human body to 
find the derivatives of alcohol — aldehyde and 
acetic acid — the substances into which it would 
turn if decomposed, but no traces of them 
have yet been found. 

If, then, it will not stick to the living ma- 
chine; if it is not a flesh-forming material; 
and if it will not furnish animal heat, but 
diminishes the temperature of the body, as 
demonstrated by innumerable experiments, 
what in the name of common sense and science 
does it do to justify the claim that it is a " blood 
nutrient " and a " supporter of vitality ?" 

Professor Yeomans, in his " Class-Book of 
Chemistry," says : " There is no evidence what- 
ever that under any circumstances is alcohol 
capable of serving for animal nutrition." 

Dr. Carpenter, the eminent physiologist, de- 
clares that " Alcoholic liquors cannot supply 
anything which is essential to the due nutri- 
tion of the system." Again, he says: "Wine 
is quite superfluous to man ; it is continually 
followed by the expenditure of power." 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 169 

Dr. Markham, Fellow of the Royal Society, 
sums up a long discussion on alcohol in the 
" British Medical Journal," as follows : " It is 
to all intents a foreign agent which the body 
gets rid of as soon as it can. It is not a sup- 
porter of combustion. Part, probably the 
whole of it escapes from the body, and none 
of it, so far as we know, is assimilated. It is, 
therefore, not a food in the eye of science." 

But notwithstanding these facts, which have 
again and again been demonstrated, the sup- 
porters of alcohol are determined to have it 
perform some important part in the animal 
economy, and they declare that it " prevents 
tissue metamorphosis, and offers itself in the 
blood as a substitute for food." In other words, 
it stops the wear and waste that are continually 
going on in the body and compels the system 
to subsist upon nothing. And this is the latest 
and most advanced thought of the votaries of 
alcoholic food-action. It is the logical con- 
clusion of nearly all of the medical journals 
and leading authors on materia medica in this 
country and in Europe. The late Dr. Anstie, 
M. R. C. P., declared that " Alcohol will not 
only support life, but even the bulk of the 
body for many da3 r s during the abstinence of 
common foods." According to this distin- 
guished teacher, had Dr. Tanner drunk whisky 



170 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

instead of water he might have tipped the 
beam at 158 pounds at the end of his forty- 
days' fast instead of 122 as the result proved. 
He might not have been quite so companion- 
able to his immediate friends — with all those 
36 pounds of worn-out and effete matter re- 
tained in his system — but, nevertheless, he 
would have had the bulk and weight all the 
same. Think of venous blood and foul secre- 
tions being retained in the body as a substitute 
for natural healthy food I 

The clinical facts which some writers have 
produced as demonstrative of the food-action 
of alcohol are, as such, worth absolutely noth- 
ing. The proof here must be rigid — one of the 
scale-and-balance kind. Let us be told what 
the weight of the patient was before the experi- 
ment was commenced, and what after. Let us 
know how much water was taken with the 
alcohol, and be satisfied that nothing but 
diluted alcohols were swallowed while the 
experiments were going on. The analysis of 
such facts would enable us to arrive at some- 
thing positive upon the subject. We have no 
hesitation in saying that to call alcohol food, 
or even a substitute for food, in the present 
state of our knowledge of its effects, is an abuse 
of knowledge. And those who affirm it to be 
should give something like a tangible proof 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 171 

of the fact. Let them show that a person fed 
solely on alcoholic liquor for ten or twelve days 
has gained, or at least not lost, in weight. To 
say that an emaciated creature who rises from 
a bed of sickness, and who has taken during 
his illness large quantities of alcohol and 
water, is a living proof that alcohol is food, or 
that it will in any way support life, is mani- 
festly an unfounded assumption. 

The claim that alcohol promotes digestion is 
equally delusive. It has been clearly demon- 
strated that instead of assisting, it actually 
arrests the process of digestion and prevents 
the assimilation of food. " It is a remarkable 
fact," says Dr. Dundas Thompson, "that 
^alcohol, when added to the digestive fluid, pro- 
duces a white precipitate, so that that fluid is no 
longer capable of digesting animal or vegeta- 
ble matter." 

Bowman and Todd, in their " Class Book 
of Chemistry," declare that " Alcohol retards 
digestion by coagulating the pepsin, an essen- 
tial element of the gastric juice. Were it not 
that wine and spirits are rapidly absorbed, the 
introduction of these into the stomach in any 
quantity would be a complete bar to the diges- 
tion of food." As a proof of this declaration, 
if we take a vial containing gastric juice, and 
place in it some crumbs of bread and meat, 



172 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

keep it at a temperature of 98°, in a few hours 
it will be dissolved into a poultacious mass. 
If to another vial of gastric juice and food 
treated in the same way we add a small quan- 
tity of alcohol, the dissolving process will be 
arrested, and the food will remain unchanged 
for days. 

In further confirmation of this fact, Dr. 
Figg "took two dogs and gave to each five 
ounces of cold roast mutton, cut into small 
squares and passed into the oesophagus without 
contact with the teeth. An elastic tube was 
passed into the stomach of one, and an ounce 
and a quarter of alcohol injected. After five 
hours both animals were killed. In the one 
where the meat had been taken by itself it had 
all disappeared. In the other, the meat was 
still in the stomach and the pieces were as 
angular as when swallowed." 

Dr. Beddow, another eminent physician, 
made similar experiments on dogs, and found 
that " three drachms (less than than three teaspoon- 
fuls) of alcohol completely arrested digestion 
for over four hours." 

Does any one require stronger evidence than 
this that alcohol is not a promoter of diges- 
tion ? With these facts staring us in the face, 
how can w r e reconcile the practice of physi- 
cians prescribing porter, ale, brandy and alco- 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 173 

holic liquors under the pretense of supporting 
the patient and assisting digestion ? 

Again, we are told that alcohol is a "fuel 
food/' or " heat-forming material." This is 
a very popular belief indulged in, and is the 
legitimate offspring of the " blood-nutriment " 
and " life-supporting " theory which has been 
handed down as a traditional inheritance. It 
has entrapped many a poor fellow who has 
been made to sacrifice his health and very life 
on the altar of this false teaching. And what 
are the facts in the case? Here, again, we 
must put this alcoholic bull to the test of 
experiment; for only by experiment and care- 
ful observation can we ascertain the property 
of things and learn to correct false theories 
and erroneous conceptions. 

It is generally conceded that animal heat is 
produced by the oxidation or combustion of 
the carbonaceous ingredients of the food and 
tissues. Now, as alcohol is not burned nor 
otherwise consumed in the system, but passes 
out of the body in the same condition as it 
enters (as is shown by being recollected from 
the mother's milk and other secretions of the 
body), the inference is plain that it is not a 
" fuel food." But if further evidence is needed 
to convince the " doubting Thomas," let him 
test the matter w r ith a clinical thermometer ; 



174 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

place the bulb under the tongue, allow it to 
remain there from five to seven minutes ; note 
the temperature ; now take a glass of brandy, 
and after waiting fifteen or twenty minutes take 
the temperature again, and he will find that it 
has fallen in proportion to the amount and 
strength of spirits imbibed. Dr. Kirk, late 
Professor in the University of Edinburgh, 
says, " One glass of brandy will continue to 
lower the temperature for about four hours." 

Prof. N. S. Davis, a prominent physician 
of Chicago, demonstrated as long ago as 1850 
that the presence of alcohol in the system low- 
ered the temperature. Since then he has fully 
established its correctness by a series of experi- 
ments performed with a delicately graduated* 
thermometer, taking the temperature every 
half hour for three hours after the moderate^ 
use of wine and whisky. 

Dr. C. Binz, a distinguished German physi- 
cian, made numerous experiments with the 
view to determine the action of non-poisonous 
doses of alcohol upon the body. He found 
that " half a glass of light hock, or a small 
glass of cognac (these drinks contain about 10 
per cent, of alcohol) caused a fall of from 0.4° to 
0.6° in a very short time. In experiments 
made upon dogs with poisonous doses there 
was a fall in temperature of from 4° to 6° in 



EVIL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. 175 

from one to two hours." Dumeril, Dermar- 
quay, Magnus, and others in Europe, experi- 
mented upon man and domestic animals and 
obtained similar results. The testimony of 
Sir James Ross, Sir John Richardson, Dr. Hayes, 
and other Arctic explorers, is that alcohol 
is not only useless, bat positively injurious as 
respiratory or fuel food. 

The claim that alcohol gives strength to the 
weak and enfeebled body is equally fallacious. 
It has been clearly demonstrated, not only by 
the foregoing investigations, but by scientific 
facts, that its presence in the system diminishes 
the strength and the power of endurance. The 
results of physical labor, as shown in the field, 
on the march, at the forge, in the workshop, 
and in all the physical and intellectual pursuits, 
prove that the spirit-drinker fails to cope with 
the non-user of alcohol. 

Viewing the case then from whatever stand- 
point we may, we find it to be an agent foreign 
to the body of man, a poison of a most dan- 
gerous and fascinating character, the cautious 
use of which is always attended with risk, not 
only to man's physical constitution, but also to 
his moral and spiritual nature. He who uses 
these liquors, knowing them to be bad, adds to 
the violation of physical law, moral depravity, 
and he who uses them, ignorant of their 



176 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

properties, is now inexcusable. There was a 
period, before science had commenced her re- 
searches into this matter, when such ignorance 
was excusable ; but we are now surrounded by 
light, and it is our duty as rational beings to 
make inquiry. Should we wilfully neglect to 
do this, and yet continue to use alcoholic poi- 
sons, then we knowingly commit a sin. 

Those who use wines on their tables, and set 
the example of moderate drinking, delude and 
mislead thousands to their ruin. So far as ex- 
ample goes, the moderate drinker exerts a far 
more dangerous influence upon society than 
the poor drunkard. He gives an air of re- 
spectability to the practice, and thousands who 
attempt to follow his example fall by the way- 
side. But the drunkard excites our disgust, 
and we pass him by, and fear not the contam- 
inating influence of his example. 

And now, in taking leave of the subject, we 
desire to impress upon all parents the impor- 
tance of teaching their children the exact truth 
respecting the action of alcohol on the human 
system. We have seen how persons have been 
deceived and misled regarding its value as a 
nutritive agent, as a promoter of digestion, as 
a supporter of vitality, and as a heat-forming 
material. And we have also seen how de- 
structive it is to life and health, corrupting the 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 177 

blood, inflaming the tissues, and causing dis- 
ease in every part of the body. And no less 
destructive is it to man's moral ^nd spiritual 
well-being. By its action on the brain it de- 
thrones reason, paralyzes the will, puts con- 
science to sleep, and stirs up all the vile and 
brutal passions in man's nature. 

When the medical profession move in earnest 
and teach the exact truth in regard to alcohol, 
we shall have a public sentiment, and out of 
that sentiment will come law and an answer to 
the prayer, " Lord, that I might be healed." 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 

It is a trite saying that " man is a creature 
of habit." And one of the most debasing and 
baneful habits to which he is addicted is that 
of smoking, chewing and snuffing tobacco. 
The effects are more insidious and the habit 
much stronger and more difficult to break off 
than that of using alcoholic liquors. 

Nicotine, or the active principle of tobacco, is 
one of the most violent poisons known to man; 
like prussic acid, it destroys life in small doses 
and with great rapidity. This poison is found 
even in the smoke of tobacco, not being de- 
stroyed by combustion. In proof of this, if a 
current of smoke be passed through a vessel of 
water an oily substance will soon be found 



178 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

floating on the surface ; if this be placed on 
the tongue of a cat, it will destroy the life of 
the animal very quickly. If the smoke from a 
pipe or cigar be concentrated on a sheet of 
paper, the deposit will be found to contain the 
same deadly poison. Hence, every person who 
respires the same, willingly or unwillingly, 
must have the blood in his veins more or less 
impregnated with the poison. 

There are a great many foolish and absurd 
customs in this world, but we know of none so 
injurious and degrading as the tobacco habit. 
Among the savage tribes of the Rocky Mount- 
ains it is customary or fashionable to flatten 
their heads by long-continued pressure. In 
other barbarous countries they slit the ears 
and nose and hang from them tin, brass and 
other cheap ornaments. In China they com- 
press the feet of the females from birth to pre- 
vent their growth. The Turks cram their 
women after the manner of stuffing geese, that 
they may become enormously fleshy. Some 
African tribes knock out their upper front 
teeth and otherwise disfigure their bodies ; but 
none of these are so injurious and debasing as 
poisoning the system with alcohol and tobacco. 
We can excuse these poor semi-barbarians 
who flatten their heads, slit their ears, compress 
their feet, knock out their teeth and tattoo 
their skins; but for a highly civilized and 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 179 

Christian people to poison their bodies, and 
corrupt their moral nature by the abuse of a 
deadly poison like tobacco, is quite incredible. 
There are few persons who are not familiar 
with the injurious effects of smoking, chewing 
and snuffing ; we have evidence of the fact all 
around us, and physicians of every school bear 
witness to the same; those who have fallen 
victims to the habit proclaim against it and 
regret that they ever commenced its use. We 
seldom meet a friend or patient who does not 
add his testimony to the mischief of which he 
has been the witness, in his own case or that of 
some friend, from tobacco. All medical au- 
thorities agree that the habitual use of it is 
injurious to man — physically, mentally and 
morally — causing various forms of disease. 
Says the " New York Medical Journal : " " In 
an experimental observation of thirty-eight 
boys of all classes of society and of average 
health, who had been using tobacco for periods 
ranging from two months to two years, twenty- 
seven showed severe injury to the constitution 
and insufficient growth ; thirty-two showed the 
existence of irregularity of the heart's action, 
disordered stomachs, coughs and craving for 
alcohol; thirteen had intermittency of the 
pulse and one had consumption. After they 
had abandoned the use of tobacco, within six 
months one-half w T ere free from all their former 



180 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

symptoms, and the remainder had recovered 
by the end of the year." Ought not these con- 
siderations to restrain every wise and good man 
from contracting or continuing such a sense- 
less, destructive habit of self-indulgence? 

The question is often asked, " Can a person 
who smokes tobacco be an honest and honor- 
able man?" Here is the Hon. Neal Dow's 
answer : " In the street, on steamboats, in 
public places, in railway cars, everywhere, in 
fact, except in smoking-cars or in smoking- 
rooms, we have a right, all of us, to the free, 
fresh, pure air. This is as much our right as 
the purse in our pocket. No one has any more 
right to take it from us than to pick our 
pockets. To pick a pocket is stealing, robbery ; 
what is it to take away the pure air from an- 
other, and to put stinking, poisoned air in its 
place ? 

"To sit beside another at the table and sprinkle 
his food with soot or asafoetida ; w T hat would such 
a procedure be called ? What word is there in 
our language by which to characterize it? 
How would that differ from infusing a dis- 
gusting stench into the air for others to breathe? 
To poison another's food in that way would be 
called an intolerable abomination, and the 
doing of it w r ould expose the party to a sum- 
mary expulsion from decent society. But the 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 181 

poisoning of the air which others must breathe 
is so common a thing to do, so many persons 
practice it who would not pick a pocket, or 
poison other people's food, that most persons 
do not look upon it in its true light. 

" I have often seen, in the streets, ladies and 
others walk very slowly or stop upon the side- 
walk to allow the smoke to pass out of smelling 
distance. I have also seen people cross the 
street to avoid the stench of tobacco, which to 
many persons is intolerable. Have these 
people an undoubted right to the free, fresh air 
as they walk the streets? Then, what term are 
we to apply to the act of poisoning — for tobacco 
smoke is a poison — the air for them to breathe ? 
How may we justly stigmatize those w T ho do it? " 

But what can we do ? Tobacco confronts us 
wherever we go ; it smokes on every corner 
like the reeking of a dung-hill ; on the streets, 
in the highways, everywhere, men and boys 
puff their tobacco smoke in ladies' faces who 
have no protection; chewers eject the filthy 
juice on the sidewalk, floors of railway cars and 
other public places, greatly to the annoyance of 
all decent people ; errand boys and boot-blacks 
form clubs of three or four, passing their pipe 
from mouth to mouth, in the secluded nooks 
of every alley. It is here that vice grows 
strong in company ; it is here the little boy re- 



182 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

ceives his first practical lesson in larceny from 
his more advanced confederates ; it is here, 
around the pipe, young pickpockets congre- 
gate and board the train that leads to ruin. 

That this is true no one can deny. It is a 
grave and important matter for parents to con- 
sider. If they will save their boys from the 
tobacco vice, there will be little danger of their 
becoming drunkards. For it is a well-known 
fact that not one in fifty who abstains from the 
use of tobacco drinks alcoholic liquors ; whereas, 
nine out of ten who use tobacco use intoxicat- 
ing liquors to a greater or less extent ; the two 
vices seem to be almost inseparable. Smoking, 
especially, causes thirst and vital depression, to 
relieve which alcoholic stimulants are resorted 
to. And thus two of the most debasing habits 
and vices to which human nature can be de- 
graded are indulged in to the injury of the in- 
dividual, in shortening his life, and to the 
injury and ruin of his offspring. 

An argument in favor of tobacco is deduced 
from the universality of the habit. All nations, 
it is said, use stimulants of some kind ; hence, 
it is argued, they supply a natural want in har- 
mony with the design of the Creator. 

If this logic be sound, all that is necessary to 
justify any vice, as gambling, prostitution, 
drunkenness, or any abomination, is its gene- 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 183 

ral prevalence. But it is not true that tobacco 
supplies a natural want. The very fact that it 
poisons every one who first attempts to use it, 
is a proof to the contrary. It is disgusting in 
the highest degree to the natural appetite, and 
contrary to the unwritten law that forbids its 
use. If it supplies a natural want, pray, tell 
us, why women are exempt ? Do they not re- 
quire it ? Are the burdens which they have to 
bear not equal to those of men ? Look into the 
cottages of the poor ; see the wife and the mother 
as she struggles on from day to day, and often 
through long weary nights, unsustained by 
luxuries or stimulants, w T hile her rugged hus- 
band must have his rum and tobacco, not be- 
cause it supplies a natural want, but a morbid 
craving fostered by habit. 

Again, it is asserted that " tobacco cannot be 
a poison, or, if so, it must be a very slow one, 
for persons use it many years and live to old 
age." This kind of reasoning may satisfy those 
who wish to indulge in the morbid luxury, but, 
when considered from a scientific standpoint, 
is worth absolutely nothing. ' 

Let us inquire, what is a poison ? Toxicolo- 
gists tell us it is " a substance which, when taken 
into the animal economy, acts injuriously on 
the textures of organs." If the oil of tobacco, 
which is the active principle, be placed on the 



184 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

tongue of a cat or a dog, it will kill the animal 
in three or four minutes. This fact has been 
demonstrated by repeated experiments made 
by Professor Mussey, Drs. Brodie, Lizars and 
other experimentalists. Dr. Pereira, a distin- 
guished author, states that an infusion of thirty 
grains of crude tobacco, administered as an in- 
jection, proved rapidly fatal; and numerous 
instances of a similar kind are reported by 
other writers. The " National Dispensatory," 
the highest authority in this country, says: 
" Tobacco is hostile to all forms of vegetable 
or animal life." Again, it says: ■" Habitual 
smoking, snuffing or chewing lessens the nat- 
ural appetite, impairs digestion, irritates the 
mouth and throat, rendering it habitually con- 
gested, and destroys the purity of the voice. It 
induces an habitual sense of uneasiness and 
nervousness, and palpitation of the heart. 
Chewing causes gastralgia, and smoking neu- 
ralgia. In numerous instances it has produced 
amaurosis." 

After death from tobacco, " the brain is 
found empty of blood, the stomach reddened in 
round spots and raised, resembling patches of 
dark velvet; the blood is dark and fluid; the 
lungs are pale, while the heart is engorged with 
blood." 

These facts prove, beyond a question of 



THE TOBACCO HABIT. 185 

doubt, that tobacco is a poison, potent and per- 
nicious. It also proves that it cannot be taken 
into the system in any appreciable quantity 
without doing injury. The fact that the hu- 
man organism has the capacity to accommo- 
date itself in a wonderful degree to the use of 
poisons, if the quantity taken only be gradually 
increased, is no proof that they are not inju- 
rious to the system. All poisons are cumula- 
tive in their actions ; that is, small doses, fre- 
quently repeated, injure the body and finally 
destroy life as completely as though a poisonous 
dose had been taken at once ; but, of course, the 
action extends over a longer period. Hence, 
tobacco, being a poison and foreign to the body, 
the direction of the action must be the same and 
the result alike disastrous. 

But, some one says, " My father used tobacco 
nearly all his life and lived to be an old man ; 
therefore, it cannot be so very injurious." Well, 
we have known some persons to be diseased 
nearly all their lives and yet live to old age. Is 
that any proof that disease is not hurtful and that 
it does not shorten human life? Why should the 
tobacco disease not injure the system the same 
as any other disease? Do not both poison the 
life-blood and produce disorder and death? 
To say that a man who chews or smokes a ton 
of tobacco and lives to be seventy-five years 



186 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

old would not have lived longer and been 
better without it. is an unfounded assumption. 
The only way by which to prove the truth or 
falsity of such a proposition would be to select, 
say, one thousand young men of the same age, 
free from disease and all taint of alcohol and 
tobacco, place them under the same favorable 
circumstances as regards diet, exercise and hy- 
gienic conditions, except that one-half of them 
shall have full swing at the best brands of 
" pig-tail " or " fine-cut tobacco." At the end 
of a hundred years, more or less, take an 
account of stock, and if it is found that those 
who use tobacco maintain the same high 
standard of health and length of life as those 
who do not use it, we shall have to acknowledge 
that tobacco is not a poison injurious to man, 
but a morbid luxury, and that the most to be 
said against it is that it is a dirty, filthy, de- 
grading vice, obnoxious to the finer sensibilities 
of all decent people. 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 

We cannot close this chapter on the train- 
ing of children without a few warning words 
against the use of opium. 

This drug has been long and extensively 
used as a medicine. Taken in a moderate 
dose, it produces exhilaration and pleasant 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 187 

flights of fancy, followed, in the course of an 
hour, by a disposition to sleep; or, if sleep does 
not take place, the body and mind enjoy a 
sense of repose from external impressions, 
while the mind is filled with dreamy and gen- 
erally pleasant ideas. This condition of tran- 
quillity and comfort may last for several hours, 
or sooner or later pass into a quiet sleep. 
Some headache, nausea and lassitude may fol- 
low the awakening, but these vary much with 
the dose and the individual. When a large 
dose has been taken it causes little or no excite- 
ment, but* almost immediately reduces the 
frequency of the pulse, diminishes muscular 
power, causes giddiness and drowsiness, suc- 
ceeded by insensibility and deep apoplectic 
sleep with loud snoring respiration, and the 
person dies in a few hours if not relieved . 

Opium, as we have said, is used extensively 
in medicine, and is given for the relief of pain 
and to induce sleep. It gives temporary relief 
by benumbing the sensibilities of the patient 
so that he does not feel the pain ; but the disease 
may run its course — even to a fatal termina- 
tion — while the patient and his friends may 
not be aware of it. In transient diseases, and 
where the drug is not continued beyond a few 
days, the patient may not be entrapped by its 
seductive powers; but in diseases of a chronic 
or tedious character, like neuralgia, rheumatism 



188 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

and some nervous affections, where its use is 
continued beyond a few weeks, the patient is 
almost sure to fall a victim to the opium habit. 

In this country the habit is rarely acquired 
except by first using it as a medicine, and it 
is largely extended beyond its legitimate use 
by being administered to infants by monthly 
nurses or ignorant, idle and unnatural mothers, 
in the form of "Paregoric," "Godfrey's Cor- 
dial," u Soothing Syrup," etc., etc. In conse- 
quence, thousands of these little ones suffer 
from almost constant narcotism, and thou- 
sands are annually poisoned in their cradles, 
their pure instincts perverted, their appetites 
depraved and their whole organisms debauched 
for life by these pernicious compounds. 

A case which recently came under our care 
will serve to illustrate the wretched condition 
of one of these little victims. The history of 
the case is as follows : Soon after the child was 
born it was fed on sweetened water, and in a 
short time it became fretful and cried as if in 
great pain ; the nurse gave it catmint tea, but to 
little purpose, as the suffering and crying con- 
tinued ; laudanum was next given in drop 
doses, which afforded temporary relief, the 
colic, however, recurred from day to day, and 
the laudanum was continued. After pursuing 
this treatment for several weeks " Mrs. Wins- 
low's Soothing Syrup " was substituted for the 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 189 

laudanum. Thus matters went on from better 
to worse for nearly three months. The family 
physician was now called in, and he prescribed 
laudanum, which was given secundum artem up 
to the time of our first visit. 

The infant was now live months old and 
taking twenty drops of laudanum twice a day. 
This quantity, however, did not relieve its suf- 
ferings, and the doctor ordered thirty drops to 
be given at a dose. It was a most pitiable 
looking object of " death-in-life ; " its body was 
emaciated to a skeleton, its skin was a dirty 
yellow and hung in folds on its trembling 
limbs ; its big glassy eyes were sunk deep in 
their orbits; it started at the slightest noise, 
and clutched continually with its hands as if 
it was in the greatest agony. 

We explained to the parents that this was a 
clear case of poisoning, and that it was a sub- 
ject for legal investigation ; that it looked to us 
like a conspiracy on the part of the doctor, 
mother and nurse to destroy the child, and we 
could not see why they were not all liable to 
arrest; for if it was not a case of willful poison- 
ing it was at least one of ??ia£-practice, which 
is no less an indictable offense. But, as might 
be expected, the perpetrators of this crime were 
allowed to escape, like thousands of others who 
commit similar acts upon their innocent off- 
spring. 



190 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

In this case, however, the use of the opium 
was discontinued by gradually diminishing 
the size of the dose, and at the end of two 
weeks of anxiety and suffering the child was 
free from the poisonous drug and well on his 
way to recovery. He began to take food with 
a relish and to thrive and was happy. To-day 
he is a bright, lively boy ; but if he lives to 
manhood without becoming addicted to the 
habit of using tobacco and rum, he will be the 
eighth wonder of the world. 

The use of opium is also increasing to an 
alarming extent among our adult population. 
We are acquainted with a score or more con- 
firmed opium-eaters who take it in the form of 
laudanum, morphia and the crude drug. They 
commenced the habit in every instance by first 
using it as a medicine. In many cases it will 
give temporary relief at first, but it will not 
cure or do any permanent good, but will often fix 
the disease, as it were, and make it more diffi- 
cult to cure. It is a thousand times better to 
endure pain, even for days, than be entrapped 
by an enemy which comes in the garb of an 
angel with its balmy powers, but which will 
ultimately bind its victim in chains which will 
"drag him down to the depths of an awful 
hell." 

Who, then, is safe that takes opium even under 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 191 

the direction of a physician ? A few days ago 
a former patient called on me and related his 
experience with this god of dreams. "Some 
six months ago/' said he, " I was attacked with 
a rheumatic pain in the shoulder, which an- 
noyed me for a week or two, but did not inter- 
fere particularly w r ith my business ; one day it 
became more intolerant, and I called in the 
doctor; he deliberated a moment, and then 
took out his hypodermic syringe, and injected 
a dose of morphia into my arm ; in a few min- 
utes I w r as free from pain, and was soon asleep ; 
next day the pain was as bad as ever, and the 
doctor gave me another injection of morphia, 
and I slept all night ; again the pain recurred, 
and the drug was repeated. This method of 
treatment was kept up for nearly six weeks, 
when the pain subsided, and I relinquished 
the morphia. Now a conflict ensued which 
I had not even dreamed of: I found myself 
the slave of a tyrant, w 7 hich I had no pow r er to 
control, and I was wretched beyond anything 
I had ever experienced. My appetite was 
gone ; my nerves were all unstrung, and sleep 
was impossible ; I would spring out of bed at 
night and pace the room like a madman ; I 
had little control of my will-power, and was a 
terror to my family. For two mortal weeks 
this struggle continued before I could say that 



192 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

I was free from this tyrant who in so short a 
time had bound and made me an abject slave. 

This is but a miniature picture of the horrible 
nightmare which this drug is capable of pro- 
ducing. To fully understand the bewitching 
and all-absorbing power of morphia on the 
human system, after the habit has been firmly 
established, one should read the 

Confession of an Opium Slave. — Mrs. 
James Havens, Lecturer on Narcotics in the 
W. C. T. U., relates a portion of a confession 
made by an opium slave, w r hich we take the 
liberty to copy for the benefit of those who 
wish to learn the power and influence of mor- 
phia on the human system. 

" I was engaged in journalism in an Eastern 
city at a salary which I thought justified me 
in the most arduous labor. I was ambitious 
to succeed as a journalist, and I worked beyond 
my strength, paying little heed to the warning 
of my overwrought nerves and weary brain, 
until they finally rebelled and called a halt. 
But rest was not to be .thought of in my case, 
and I hastened to our old family physician 
and friend for advice. I rebelled at his im- 
perative prescription of * Rest/ and impatiently 
demanded a tonic .that would revive my fail- 
ing energies ; so he decided to test the effect of 
morphia upon me. He said nothing to me, 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 193 

however, of the proposed experiment, and, as I 
had always trusted to his skill and judgment, 
I made no inquiries. 

11 Under the influence of the delightful pana- 
cea I worked with redoubled zeal. My brain 
grew luminous with beautiful imagery, my 
thoughts flew with lightning speed, and work 
was the most delightful pastime. I joyfully 
listened to the commendations of my friends 
for the elegance and profusion of my literary 
labors. 

11 But when the mysterious panacea had 
spent its power I was wretched beyond descrip- 
tion. My nerves quivered, my limbs trembled, 
and my teeth chattered as if with an ague 
chill. Of course I immediately applied for 
another prescription of the magical powders, 
which was granted under protest. It seems 
strange to me now that I never cared to inquire 
the name or nature of the drug until I had 
been under its influence for a succession of 
weeks. One day the physician suggested the 
propriety of preparing the powders myself, as 
I was so determined to have them, and pro- 
duced a tiny, blue-wrapped bottle labeled 
'Morphia sulphJ A shuddering horror seized 
me. I knew that whatever the powders were it 
was impossible to live without them, but I 
never dreamed they were morphia. I was 

9 



194 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

fearfully alarmed, and exclaimed in dismay, 
'Can it be possible, doctor, that I have become 
a slave to opium ? ' ' Oh/ replied my physician, 
placidly, ' Not that bad, we hope;' then added, 
sternly, ' I prescribed those powders as a remedy 
for your nervousness, and I regret to know you 
have resorted to them as a stimulant.' 

" But he quieted my fears, cautioned me to 
use great care and judgment in the frequency 
of its use, and never to take it unnecessarily. 
From that moment my doom was sealed, and 
the signet of inexorable fate was stamped upon 
it. After again repeating his words of caution 
the physician placed the bottle of morphia in 
my hands and left me alone and powerless to 
the mercy of a demon. Ah ! I have seen the 
time since then that the most merciful prayer 
my lips could utter was that he, my good 
friend (?) and trusted physician, might suffer 
for one brief hour one tithe of the unutterable 
agony that I was compelled to endure for long, 
weary years. Thus left alone to the guidance 
of my own judgment — holding in my own 
hand the weapon that could successfully com- 
bat every adverse influence and brighten even 
the poorest joys of life, and with the assurance 
that no harm could befall if used judiciously — 
is it any wonder that I fell a willing victim to 
a power whose clanking chains I could only 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 195 

hear softly and sweetly low as the tinkle of a 
silver bell ? Is it any wonder that I turned 
away with a sense of loathing and disgust 
from the prosy, commonplace scenes of every- 
day life when I held in my own hand the 
' open sesame ' to the whole vast fields of 
ideality — to roam at will through its enchanted 
palaces, to drink of the waters far sweeter 
than the ' nectar of the gods/ and eat of the 
fruit fairer and more delicious than ever grew 
on the health-giving trees of the garden of 
Paradise ? How was I to know that those de- 
licious waters would eventually pall upon mj 
taste like the ' bitter waters of Marah/ and the 
luscious fruit, like the ' apples of Sodom/ turn 
to scorching, blistering ashes upon my lips? 

" After the physician left me to the dictates 
of my own judgment, there was not a single 
moment for five long years that I was not 
under the weird and witching power of mor- 
phia. It is true, I made many a wretched at- 
tempt to free myself, but the miserable sensa- 
tion caused by the fading influence of the drug 
was too terrible to be borne. The first two 
years of the five were all one blissful, roseate 
dream — not a pain — not a grief or a sorrow 
could by any means approach me, and I daily 
experienced a vivid sense of the expansion of 
all my powers. Whatever duty I had to per- 



196 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

form, domestic, social or intellectual, I felt 
fully equal to the task. My literary labors 
were extended far into the night without cessa- 
tion, yet I experienced no fatigue. Neither 
hunger, thirst, sleep nor weariness made any 
demands upon my system. Four hours of 
fitful slumber out of the twenty-four were all 
I required, and, in fact, I could do very well 
without that. 

" Every habit of my life paid exorbitant 
tribute to the baleful extortioner. At the ex- 
piration of about two years, very slowly, and 
by almost imperceptible degrees, a change 
came over my unnatural life. A shadowy 
gloom, a darkening terror began to envelop 
my spirits — black, horrible forebodings began 
to oppress me. An ever-present consciousness 
of some awful impending doom weighed like a 
deadly nightmare upon my soul, and, like the 
* old man of the sea/ it could not be shaken off. 
Day and night alike I was compelled to endure 
the ghastly burden of the consciousness that 
the culminating horrors of the dreaded doom 
were drawing nearer and nearer with the 
dawning of every morning and the setting of 
every sun. I tried to imagine myself insane, 
knowing well that in such an event this hor- 
rible incubus was not real, but existed only 
in a diseased imagination. But in vain. I 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 197 

knew too well that I was now reaping as I had 
sown. I knew too well that I was the abject 
slave of a tyrant who had enticed me within 
the gates of Paradise only till the chains were 
welded to drag me, helpless and hopeless, 
down to the lowest depths of an awful hell. 

" My literary w T ork, which had previously 
been my delight, began now to be almost re- 
pulsively distasteful. At occasional intervals 
I tried to rally and believe that my work would 
soon regain its wonted charm, but too late ! 
The brilliancy and the purity of my style had 
fled, and I found to my dismay that my pen 
had lost its cunning and my brain its accus- 
tomed poise ! Frightened at the piteous wreck 
of my mental powers, and the failing of all my 
finer faculties, I made a thousand weak en- 
deavors to free myself from my fatal hallucina- 
tion, but the fetters were stronger than chains 
of brass, and my efforts were abortive. 

" I appealed frantically to Heaven, but my 
prayers were impious, and only rebounded, 
unanswered, upon my own soul. At length 
remorse, the most pungent and exquisitely in- 
tolerable agony of all the tortures of the rack 
that opium has prepared for its victims, began 
eating its way into my soul. I looked back- 
ward with an irresistible longing to the time 
when I was free as other people ; then I looked 



198 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

forward into the dreary, desolate future, so 
ghastly in its prospective horrors, with a 
shrinking, quivering dread that could not be 
appeased. 

" Fear was the next emotion that most 
bitterly assailed me, and while remorse was 
still true to its fiendish trust, fear shook its 
quivering, palsied finger in my face and 
pointed to the frightful quicksands in my 
path. It was not a sudden, startling fear, but 
a constant, oppressive apprehension of evil, 
causing me to tremble at every sound and 
shiver at every breath. At length existence 
became so miserable that this life was no 
longer endurable, and I determined to end it 
by unlocking the portals of eternity with my 
own hands. I was w T ell satisfied that eternity 
could hold no horrors superlative to this, and 
I even indulged a faint hope that the change 
might be beneficial. I had been told by my 
medical adviser that I could never break the 
chains that bound me and live ; and so that 
was to be the manner of my exit, for I had 
determined to break my bonds even if death 
should be the result. Accordingly, I set my 
house in order and made every preparation 
for a long, long journey, and the struggle 
began. 

" But oh, God of mercies ! did ever death 
and life have a fiercer struggle? Hand to 



THE OPIUM BONDAGE. 199 

hand with the dread monster I battled for 
long, frightful weeks, just on the verge of 
Death's awful abyss, knowing that at any 
moment he might push me over. Nothing on 
earth, nothing in the unknown hereafter, could 
exceed the intolerable horrors of that unusual 
conflict. I had panoplied myself with one 
weapon, which, combined with my own will- 
power, was my whole armor of defense. That 
weapon was a solemn vow to the Almighty 
that if Heaven would assist me in my efforts 
I would help myself. 

"I had often pra3^ed for release uncondi- 
tionally, but now I was willing to do my 
utmost in this unequal battle for freedom. 
With that vow upon my soul I could not 
retract, and. in fact, I felt a grim satisfaction 
in testing the remnant of my will-power to its 
utmost capacity, or, rather, to see which was 
the stronger, Death or I. For that purpose 
I placed a full, unopened bottle of morphia 
upon my table at the commencement of the 
struggle. I was true to my vow. I did exert 
my will-power, and I did conquer at last. 

" But oh ! I would have given a thousand 
worlds, were they mine, to have had that sol- 
emn vow blotted out, that I might die an easier 
death. Tortured with agony no language could 
express, I paced the dreary circuit of my room 
long, wretched days, and longed for night ; but 



200 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

when the night closed in — those endless nights 
— I shrieked with frantic fear, and longed for 
day! Delirium, with its untold horrors, threw 
its weight into the scales against me. There 
was nothing fiendish or demoniac that was not 
brought into requisition by the opposing power. 

" The ghastliest horrors of Dante's hideous 
imagery were, in comparison, but as flowery 
episodes in the journey of a lost soul through 
the rayless, pathless blackness of the dread 
Inferno ! Thus, for weeks and months the 
unequal conflict continued, and it ofttimes 
seemed as if worn-out Nature would succumb. 
But the all-prevailing power of God's won- 
dous grace, combined with the mighty strength 
of a determined will, won the victory, and / 
am free ! " 

Reader, this is a truthful picture of the ter- 
rible effects of opium after it once gets posses- 
sion of its victim. Those who have ever been 
under its controlling influence can fully real- 
ize how every faculty of the mind is made 
subservient to its power. This example of one 
who has been reclaimed from its bondage 
should serve as a warning voice to all who may 
be tempted to use this dangerous drug even as 
a medicine, for while it will at first dispel pain 
and promote sleep, it will ultimately insinuate 
itself into every fiber of the body and inflict 
upon its victim the torments of the damned. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MASTURBA TION—SELF-AB USE-SECRET 
VICE. 

Prevalence of the Vice — Signs by which it can be 
Detected — Terrible Results of — Effects on Fut- 
ure Generations — A Cause of Defective Vision 
— Preventive Measures — Obscene Literature — 
The Cure of the Vice — Dietetic Measures. 



Few persons, except medical men, have any 
just conception of the fearful prevalence and 
consequences of this vice — masturbation. It 
pervades all classes and conditions of society, 
from the lowest to the highest; even children 
as young as four to six years and upward 
are numbered among its victims, and are being 
carried by it to the very verge of moral and 
physical ruin. Those who practice it are often 
more unfortunate than guilty, inheriting, as 
they often do, a preponderance of the animal 
passion, which leads them to commit this 
crime against nature. Five children in every 
ten, over twelve years of age, bear the marks 
which this disgusting vice stamps on their 
countenance as a proof of their guilt. It is a 

(201) 



202 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

crime that brings its own punishment — a sin 
that nature cannot forgive. Few of either sex 
escape this pollution, and the extent to which 
it prevails in our public schools and colleges is 
shocking beyond measure. It is in these insti- 
tutions that the habit is formed early in life 
by being communicated from one to another. 
A single boy or girl may in a very short time 
corrupt a whole school despite the utmost care 
and vigilance on the part of parents or teachers. 
Thousands of children get their first lesson in 
this pernicious and debasing practice through 
evil associates at these institutions. Little 
boys and girls allowed to sleep with servants 
and nurses are often initiated into this practice 
by these caretakers, who manipulate their 
genital organs, either to gratify their own sen- 
suality or to appease the children w T hen they 
are cross or peevish. The practice is some- 
times induced in little girls by uncleanliness or 
eruptions irritating the parts and compelling 
the friction which results in the unnatural 
gratification. The filthy vice thus early begun 
is sure to result in masturbation, which sooner 
or later leads these little ones to their ruin. 
No habit acquires such irresistible force by 
indulgence, and none entails such dreadful 
consequences on its votaries. 

Signs by which the Vice can be De- 



MASTURBATION — SECRET VICE. 203 

tected. — Few persons are familiar with the 
signs by which this vice can be detected, nor 
do they fully realize the magnitude of the evil 
resulting from the practice. Among the promi- 
nent symptoms that manifest themselves in 
this species of sensuality may be noted the 
following : the child or young man or young 
woman betrays a sort of bashfulness ; cannot 
bear to be looked at ; face pale with a besotted 
expression; eyes weak with impaired vision; 
loss of memory and mental power; absent- 
minded ; easily embarrassed ; irritable temper 
indisposed to any active exertion ; headache 
weakness and pain in the small of the back 
feebleness of the whole body; emaciation and 
loss of appetite. Finally, when a young man 
has gone to a certain extent in this practice he 
loses all the natural desire for woman, and 
even the power to enjoy the pleasure of love. 
On the other hand, a young woman who has 
exhausted her vitality by self-abuse is often so 
virtuous as to hate the very sight of man and 
to loathe the very thought of sexual union. 
It is just such persons as these who are ever 
ready to condemn the poor girl who yields to 
the supplications of her lover and her own 
natural desires ; they would treat her with 
indifference and banish her from their own 
pure society. 



204 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

Terrible Effects of Self-Abuse. — It is 
the testimony of eminent physicians and au- 
thors that the sin of self-pollution or masturba- 
tion is one of the most destructive evils ever 
practiced by fallen man. " However revolt- 
ing to the feelings it may be/' says Sir W. C. 
Ellis, "to enter upon such a subject, it cannot 
be passed over in silence without a great vio- 
lation of duty. Unhappily, it has not been 
hitherto exhibited in the awful light in which 
it deserves to be shown. The ivorst of it is that 
it is seldom suspected. There are many pale 
faces and languid, nervous feelings attributed 
to other causes, when all the mischief lies 
here." 

Dr. Adam Clark says : " In many respects it 
is several degrees worse than common whore- 
dom, and has in its train more awful conse- 
quences. It excites nature to undue action, 
and produces violent secretions which neces- 
sarily and speedily exhaust the vital principle 
and energy; hence the muscles become flaccid 
and feeble, the tone and natural action of the 
nerves relaxed and impeded, the understand- 
ing confused, the memory oblivious, the judg- 
ment perverted, the will indeterminate and 
wholly without energy to resist; the eyes 
appear languishing and without expression, 
and the countenance vacant; the appetite 






MASTURBATION SECRET VICE. 205 

ceases, for the stomach is incapable of perform- 
ing its proper office ; nutrition fails ; tremors, 
fears and terrors are generated, and thus the 
wretched victim drags out a miserable ex- 
istence." 

Another writer and distinguished lady saj^s: 
" There is reason to believe that in nine cases 
out of ten those unhappy females who are ten- 
ants of houses of ill-fame have been victims 
of this vice in the first place. Were this the 
peculiar vice of the low and vulgar, there 
might be more excuse for the apathy and false 
delicacy that pervade the community respect- 
ing it. But it invades all ranks. Professed 
Christians are among its victims." 

Says the " Boston Medical and Surgical Jour- 
nal :" " A great number of the evils which 
come upon the youth at and after the age of 
puberty arise from masturbation, persisted in 
so as to waste the vital energies and enervate 
the physical and mental powers of man." 

Its Effect upon Future Generations. — 
The above is a fair picture of the mental and 
physical ruin, in extreme cases, resulting from 
this sinful practice against nature. But the 
effects of it do not cease with the individuals 
who practice it, but are visited upon their chil- 
dren in the form of a feeble constitution, which 
renders them more liable to suffer and die 



206 COUNSEL TO PAKENTS. 

from the diseases of childhood. And the habit, 
by impairing the vigor and vitality of the sys- 
tem, renders the individual far more liable to 
be attacked by any inflammatory or epidemic 
disease, and far more liable to die of such dis- 
ease than an individual of virtuous habits. 

Many suppose the injurious effects of self- 
abuse arise from a loss of the seminal fluid; 
but while this is certainly exhausting it is by 
no means the principal source of evil. Boys 
secrete no semen before puberty, and girls 
never any ; therefore, the morbid condition ob- 
served in youths who practice this vice cannot 
be attributed to this cause. The real source 
of mischief is in the nervous orgasm which 
often amounts to almost a spasm, and when 
frequently repeated the nervous power is com- 
pletely exhausted. No part of the organism 
suffers so much as the nervous system does 
from this sinful indulgence. It is a fruitful 
source of insanity, idiocy, failing sight and con- 
sumption in the young. It impairs every 
faculty of the mind and body, and leaves the 
poor victim to drag out a miserable existence 
as long as life lasts. 

Its Effect Upon the Eyes. — The question 
is daily asked, " Why do so many young peo- 
ple wear glasses nowadays ?" In the little 
town where we reside there is a population of 



MASTURBATION — SECRET VICE. 207 

about fourteen hundred; out of this number 
not less than twelve per cent, who have not 
seen their thirty-fifth birthday, are suffering 
from defective vision, and are compelled to 
wear glasses, many of them little boys and 
girls under twelve years of age. Twenty years 
ago to have met a little boy or girl on the 
street, not ten years old, wearing spectacles, 
would have been taken as a childish joke or 
regarded as a natural curiosity, but at the 
present time they are common everywhere. 
If the demand for spectacles should increase 
in the same ratio for the next twenty-five 
years as it has done in the past twenty-five, we 
shall become such a " spectacle " as Alessandro 
di Spina, the Monk, never dreamed of. 

But, in all soberness, what is it that compels 
so many of the young people to wear glasses? 
What has " got the matter with the peoples' 
eyes ? " is a question that confronts us on every 
side. All authorities are agreed, from Galen 
down to the present time, that excessive sexual 
indulgence and solitary vice are a fruitful 
source of nervous exhaustion and defective vision. 
Now, as the organs of vision are made up 
largely of the optic nerves, which are the 
nerves of essential sensibility of sight, it can 
readily be seen that whatever tends to exhaust 
the nervous power must necessarily impair and 



208 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

injure the sense of vision. The diseases known 
as " astigmatism" " amaurosis" and other nerv- 
ous affections of the eyes, so familiar to spe- 
cialists, are caused, as we believe, by abuse 
of the sexual functions. That narcotic stimu- 
lants, tea, coffee and tobacco, play an impor- 
tant part in this matter there can be no rea- 
sonable doubt, but chief among them all is the 
one we have described. We do not mean to say 
that every one who is compelled to wear glasses 
is a libertine or an onanist, but, as the sins of the 
parents are visited on the children to the third 
and even fourth generation, the innocent have 
to suffer along with the guilty; and, while we 
are loth to admit the fact, it is nevertheless true 
that the cause of the defective vision, which 
necessitates the wearing of glasses by so many 
of the } 7 oung people, is superinduced by exces- 
sive sexual indulgence and solitary vice. And 
if we are ever to get rid of this blindness, we 
must remove the primary or producing cause. 
Wearing spectacles will never cure it, neither 
will it save us from the moral degradation to 
which this vice inevitably leads. 

Prevention Better than Cure. — How shall 
we cure this diseased manifestation and prevent 
all these horrible consequences from which 
civilization suffers from center to circumfer- 
ence? Prevention here is the all important 



MASTURBATION — SECRET VICE. 209 

thing. Young children who are ignorant of 
this vice should be kept so until they are old 
enough to understand how injurious and 
sinful the practice is. During this period the 
child's actions should be watched with scrupu- 
lous care, and if a tendency be observed to 
Garry the hand to the genital organs, it must 
be taught that the habit is an evil one and 
must not be fostered. It should be taught from 
the beginning that it is w r rong, immodest and 
fraught with danger to handle these parts, and 
if the habit is persisted in, it may be necessary 
to have night dresses made, closed like drawers, 
so that no mischievous handling is possible. 
Many wise mothers think it is best to make all 
night dresses in this way for children of both 
sexes until they are quite large. 

As soon as the child is old enough to under- 
stand the subject, it should be taught by its 
parents or guardian the use and functions 
of the generative organs, and the serious con- 
sequences resulting from their abuse. The 
sooner this information is imparted to the 
child the better, while it has unlimited confi- 
dence in its natural protectors. Depend upon 
it, the best and the only safeguard to chastity 
is knowledge. Thousands of poor children of 
both sexes are corrupted and ruined from 
sheer ignorance. The boy who has been in- 



210 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

structed in regard to the nature and evils of vice 
is warned and armed against it. The girl who 
understands the physiology of the sexual 
organs will neither plunge into solitary de- 
bauchery, nor can she be seduced, as is the 
ignorant girl, who falls a victim to some artful 
man, in a moment of passionate weakness, 
before she knows what she is doing. Be as- 
sured that knowledge is the safeguard of purity. 
It will act as " a lamp to the feet and a light 
to the path/' and w T ill enable them to escape 
the moral and physical ruin wrought through 
the agency of this terrible vice. 

Obscene Literature. — One of the most po- 
tent agents of evil, and one which contributes 
more largely towards inflaming the animal 
passions and fostering secret vice than any 
other, is the distribution and reading of ob- 
scene literature. It is terrible to contemplate 
the nature and extent of this filthy, deadly 
poison. The existence of such literature has 
been traced to schools and colleges in nearly 
all the States and Territories in the Union. 
Dealers in this detestable business have organ- 
ized circulating libraries under the charge of 
the most vicious men and boys, who are paid 
to sell these obscene books, pamphlets, pictures 
and other articles too indecent to mention. 
Tons of this vile stuff are manufactured in 



MASTURBATION — SECRET VICE. 211 

New York and other cities every month, and 
sent out all over the country, where it corrupts 
and ruins the purest and fairest sons and 
daughters of our land. We do not believe that 
parents are aware of the danger to which their 
children are exposed by this source of contam- 
ination, and they cannot be too vigilant in 
guarding against these " baits of the devil/' 

There are various ways by which this moral 
pestilence is disseminated. First, by obtain- 
ing the addresses of scholars and students in 
our schools and colleges and then sending their 
circulars to the victims. Then, again, under 
the pretense of taking a census of all the un- 
married people, they offer to pay so much for a 
list of all such names as are sent. In this way 
they secure the addresses of thousands of in- 
nocent persons to whom they send catalogues, 
and too often receive letters in return from 
students of both sexes ordering these obscene 
books and other articles of an immoral char- 
acter. Could anything be fraught with greater 
danger to the health and morals of a commu- 
nity than the spread of this vile literature ? 
Cholera or yellow fever is as a cipher com- 
pared with this human pestilence, which des- 
troys not only soul and body, but transmits to 
posterity the seeds of corruption which will 
flourish and bear fruit — after its own kind — 
for ages to come. 



212 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

It may well be doubted whether any one 
factor contributes so largely to sexual immoral- 
ity as the reading of obscene literature. By 
harboring lewd thoughts and conjuring up 
visions of nude women the individual ex- 
hausts his or her vitality to the extent of giv- 
ing way to actual indulgence. The perusal of 
such books only tends to foster and keep alive 
this species of sensuality, which is well nigh 
universal among the youth of both sexes, and 
absorbs not only their waking thoughts, but 
their dreams at night as well. So long as our 
thoughts are lustful we are indulging in sexual 
abuse, and are almost sure, when temptation is 
presented, to commit the overt act of sin. If, 
then, we desire to live honest, virtuous lives, 
we shall have to banish all evil thoughts from 
our minds and keep our bodies pure also. 

The Cure for Self-Abuse. — When the 
habit is fully formed and is producing its ter- 
rible effects upon mind and body the question 
w T ill naturally arise, what can be done to arrest 
and cure this evil ? The answer is : moral 
suasion, hygienic regimen and appropriate 
medical treatment. 

In the first place, the patient should be 
made acquainted with the enormity and terri- 
ble consequences of the vice. He or she must 
be encouraged in the most loving manner, by 



MASTURBATION — SECRET VICE. 213 

every motive of hope of manhood and woman- 
hood, to abandon the practice. Unless this is 
given up at once, all other efforts will be in 
vain. It may require a hard struggle to effect 
this, but by persevering efforts victory will be 
certain. One very important element of suc- 
cess in breaking up this habit is in restraining 
the thoughts from all lascivious subjects. It 
is principally in the mental field where the 
battle must be fought, and where victory will 
be won or lost. Secret vice begins in the 
thoughts or imagination, and w T e shall not be 
likely to vanquish this monster unless we make 
the thoughts a special point of attack ; and 
while it may be difficult at first to disperse the 
enemy, with a determined effort we shall suc- 
ceed. The reading and perusal of obscene lit- 
erature and exciting novels — to which refer- 
ence has been made — should be scrupulously 
avoided, as they only tend to influence the 
passions. 

In all bad cases, where the habit overpowers 
reason, the patient should not be left alone 
night or day. He should sleep on a hard bed 
or mattress, with light coverings, and in a well- 
ventilated apartment. He should arise as soon as 
awake in the morning and take a cold bath. 
He should take active exercise in the open air 
at some kind of work which will cause fatigue 



214 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

every day. He should choose for companions 
refined, intelligent and pure-minded men and 
women. 

Dietetic Precautions. — The question of 
diet is one of no mean importance in the treat- 
ment of this " disease without a name" for " it 
has been proved beyond a doubt that the ex- 
citability and intensity of sexual passion are 
largely dependent upon what we eat and what 
we drink. " Therefore, the diet should be plain 
but nutritious ; very little animal food should 
be taken ; bread made of unbolted wheat flour, 
oatmeal, potatoes, cracked wheat and fruit are 
proper articles. Take no oysters, rich fish, 
pork, fat and salted meats, pastry, sweetmeats 
and stimulating condiments, pepper, mustard, 
catsup, or even salt, except in moderate quanti- 
ties. Avoid all alcoholic and malt liquors, tea, 
coffee and tobacco in all forms. Let the drink 
be pure fresh water, taken freely, especially on 
retiring at night. 

Sobriety, then, in eating and drinking, to- 
gether with a vigorous, prayerful effort to cor- 
rect past errors and wrong-doing, will always 
be rewarded with success. If we desire a true 
manhood or womanhood, if we desire to be 
clean and virtuous, then we must keep our 
thoughts pure as well as our bodies. Mental 
purity is the most potent safeguard against lust 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 215 

and immorality. Therefore, if we wish to for- 
sake this destructive vice and return to true 
morals and manhood, we must fly from occa- 
sions that provoke evil thoughts, avoid all par- 
ties and places where half-dressed women 
exhibit themselves, and where sensual excita- 
tions must shake our wavering determination. 
We should avoid all bad company and the 
tables of high-livers, where the fumes of to- 
bacco and exciting wines are incessant solici- 
tations to sensuality. 

These are the obligations of which experi- 
ence has demonstrated the necessity, and, if 
they are clearly recognized and intelligently 
applied, will lead to the restoration of health, 
and, we humbly trust, to a purer and more 
harmonious development of our lives. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



The result of the foregoing conclusions may 
appear small as regards the amount of novel 
information which has been disclosed, but we 
venture to think that the average reader will 
receive a little light in some dark places by 
the perusal of what we have written. There 
are those, no doubt, who will find some things 
here which are contrary to their preconceived 



216 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

opinions; but, remember, that what we some- 
times cherish as truth is often most hurtful 
and very erroneous. 

It has been our endeavor to show that the 
habits and conditions of life, the uses and 
abuses to which men and women have sub- 
jected their minds and bodies, have been to 
lower the standard of health, foster disease 
and entail it upon posterity. For centuries 
past we have been living out of the natural 
order, and as a consequence the people every- 
where are suffering for the H sin of being sick." 

Without a full observance of the laws of 
health we are all liable to ugliness, deformity, 
pain and every form of misery, all of which 
are included in the idea of disease. These 
conditions of health cannot be observed if they 
are not understood. We have so violated the 
laws of life, so neglected a knowledge of our- 
selves, so far gone astray from nature, that a 
pure, simple, natural life is not to be found 
among us. 

The diseases and excessive mortality among 
infants, which we witness around us, are to a 
very large extent directly or indirectly at- 
tributable to the ignorance and conduct of the 
parents. How many mothers pause to con- 
sider the influence which they exert on their 
unborn offspring; how the infant's mental, 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 217 

moral and physical organism is affected by 
her conduct, even by her very thoughts and 
feelings. It is said a child is born happy or 
miserable, according to the state of its mother 
during pregnancy. Even its muscular struct- 
ure may be made strong by proper food and 
exercise, or made weak and miserable by in- 
dolence or unsuitable diet. And how many 
fathers act their part well in the production of 
healthy, vigorous offspring? Too often the 
marriage rite is made a license of lust, and the 
most serious results follow the violation of 
sexual law. Such indulgence during gesta- 
tion is a crime against nature and a sin against 
reason and conscience. It robs the child of its 
right to be well born, and perpetuates a dis- 
eased and perverted offspring. 

Besides the ignorance regarding the prin- 
ciples of physiology and the development of 
human life, parents are careless and culpable 
respecting the care and management of infants. 
In vain are protesting voices raised against 
this unseen foe ; in vain are essays and books 
written, each echoing in its pages the mournful 
fact that in this highly favored and prosperous 
land forty per cent, of our infants die before 
they reach the end of their second year, and 
this occurs largely through ignorance and mis- 
management. This is a fearful mortality, and 
10 



218 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

no one can believe that the Creator ever in- 
tended to nip in the bud nearly one-half of the 
infant population; enlightened reason rebels 
against such a conclusion. JSTor is it that the 
mother does not try to care for her child, for 
the kindest feelings flow out instinctively to- 
wards her helpless offspring ; but it is simply 
that she does not know how to feed and take care 
of her baby. 

Life and health are not a mere matter of 
chance ; no one is so well aware of this fact as 
the farmer and stock-raiser, who exercise the 
greatest care in the breeding of horses, cattle, 
sheep and even dogs. No cost nor pains are 
spared in the parentage of these, and with what 
care does he study the question of health, 
speed and endurance for the animal having a 
moneyed value ; but when the question is that of 
" clothing an immortal soul in human form," 
the question of health and excellence is rarely 
considered. How unfortunate that mothers 
who have time to spare on all the frivolities of 
the day should so neglect these important 
matters, simply because it is unfashionable to 
inform themselves in regard to the origin and 
development of human life, and the means 
adapted by nature for its preservation. 

It is said that every person born with a 
healthy constitution — free from the taint of dis- 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 219 

ease — is responsible for his sickness. How then 
can disease be prevented ? Simply by living, as 
far as possible, in accordance with all the con- 
ditions of health, avoiding all excesses that 
lead to exhaustion, and keeping up the strength 
and purity of the system. But, however strong 
we may feel, we must not uselessly expose our- 
selves to the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
ness. The way to prevent disease is to study 
and obey the laws of life. 

These are not the only considerations that 
throw light on the origin of disease and lead to 
the conviction that, to a very great extent, we 
hold our health and life at will. " It is the 
fate of a great majority of our species," says an 
accomplished writer, " to fall from the hands 
of nature into those of an ignorant nurse and 
an ignorant mother. In all the departments of 
life in which men are called to act, some pre- 
paratory discipline is deemed necessary and 
afforded ; but where women are concerned, the 
presiding deity is chance" She enters her 
guardianship helpless and alone, a prey to 
doubts and fears unparalleled in other relations 
of life. She is then kept in a state of painful 
alarm and apprehension by the occurrence of 
the most trifling circumstances, or allows real 
danger to steal on in a state of the most fatal, 
because unguarded, security. 



220 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

The proper management of infants is, there- 
fore, a subject of the utmost importance to 
every human being, and no mother can be too 
thoughtful, too refined, too highly gifted with 
knowledge for the important task of training 
and educating the rising generation. 

Many are the efforts now being put forth to 
remedy the palpable defects in the prevailing 
systems of education, to purify the moral at- 
mosphere and make the world better. Books 
are being written, philanthropic societies are 
being formed, and the most advanced thought 
uttered from pulpit and platform on all sub- 
jects pertaining to the highest faculties of life 
and the development of human character. 
Never at any time has the outlook for reform 
been so full of hope and inspiration — thanks 
to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
for much that has been done and is still being 
done by this noble band in the work of moral 
reform. It is educating public sentiment up 
to the highest standard of total abstinence ; it 
is filling the hearts and homes with purer 
thoughts and bettering the condition of hu- 
manity everywhere. In the department of social 
purity it is making rapid strides, and besides 
protecting the weak it is teaching mothers the 
" sacredness of motherhood," and the best way 
of training their little ones that they may steer 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 221 

clear of the rocks and shoals upon which so 
many of the innocent and ignorant are being 
lost. To the reckless and wayward it extends 
a helping hand, and those who have already 
fallen it lifts up and encourages to do bet- 
ter. So we have every reason to be thank- 
ful to these " White Ribboners " for what 
they have already done and give promise of 
doing for " God and Home and Native Land." 
A Closing Thought. — Looking, then, at 
the situation from whatever standpoint we 
may, the outlook is encouraging. And our 
closing thought to the reader is, having re- 
ceived from our parents, grandparents and 
great-grandparents a weak, puny, sickly, short- 
lived inheritance — which is the result of their 
transgressions — we find ourselves in discord 
with the harmonies of nature and living out 
of the Divine order. And now, if we would 
return to our wonted state of health and hap- 
piness; if we would be cured of this blood- 
poisoning — which has been handed down to 
us by our forefathers — then we must get in 
harmony with the laws of our being ; and to 
do this the work must begin at home with 
ourselves. Every individual who lives in the 
conditions of health helps to make the world 
better ; every man or woman who lives a pure 
virtuous life helps to remove badness, dis- 



222 COUNSEL TO PARENTS. 

honesty, sensuality and drunkenness, and 
benefits the race ; and if such persons would 
combine their purified and invigorated lives 
in the production of healthy offspring, they 
would confer an inestimable blessing upon 
universal humanity. 



INDEX. 



Abortion, 74 

criminal, 75 

methods of procuring, 78 

.symptoms of, 74 
Abuse of the sexual functions, 32 
Advice to married people, 26 

to a young mother, 136 
Air. impure, 61 
After-birth, 90 
Alcohol, evil effects of, 158 
Alcoholic liquors, 167 

food puzzle, 162 

medication, 160 
Baby, care of, 91 

chances to live, 111 

how to dress, 100 

how to feed, 125 

how to wash. 97 
Baby's first meal, 131 

"three meals a day, 120 
Bad books, 210 
Bathing, 58 
Battle of life, 112 
Best age to marry, 24 
Book of nature, 152 
Bribing children, 152 
Candidates for matrimony, 11 
Care of the infant, 91 

of the mother, 106 
Catmint tea, 128 
Cleanliness, 94 
Cold, a cause of disease, 118 
Colic of infants, 128 
Confession of an opium slave, 192 
Constipation, 71 

of infants, 117 
Continence, 39 
Cow's milk for babies, 138 
Criminal abortion, 75 

abortion, remedy for, 85 
Cutting the cord, 97 
Death among infants, 115 
Deception in courtship, 30 
Dentition, 114, 142 
Diaper, how to make, 103 
Diet during pregnancv, 57 

for infants, 138 
Disease without a name, 38 
Diseases of pregnancy, 67 
Dishonesty in love affairs, 19 



Divers views on diet, 136 

Dress for the baby, 101 

Dressing the navel, 100 

Duration of confinement, 108 
of pregnancy, oo 

Dyspepsia of infants, 134 

Early education, 149 

Eating too much, 116 

Everybody is sick, 7 

Evil associations, 153 
effects of alcohol, 158 
effects of opium, 189 
effects of tobacco, 177 

Evolution of fcetus, 44 

Exercise, 63 

Faulty alimentation, 115 

Feeding and dosing, 125 

Feet, swelling of, 72 

Female weakness, 33 

Foeticide, 75 

Foetus, development of, 47 
evolution of, 48 

Generation, function of, 42 

General conclusions, 215 

Germ-cells, 42 

Gestation, 50 

Giving the baby food, 140 

Hand-feeding of babies, 135 

Plappy homes, 154 

Headache, 69 

Health during pregnancv, 57 

Heartburn, 69 

Hemorrhoids, 70 

Hints to young men, 24 
to young women, 22 

Honesty the best policy. 20 

How to' dress the baby* 99 
to feed the baby, 125 
to save the baby, 109 
to wash the baby, 97 
to wean the baby, 141 

Hungry cry, 126 

Hygienic precautions, 57, 143 

Impregnation, 44 

Indifference, 29 

Infant mortality, 111 

Injections, vaginal, 108 

Interests reciprocal, 28 

Labor, parturition, 87 
position during, 88 



(223) 



224 



INDEX. 



Labor, premonitory symptoms, 89 

License of lust, 36, 86 

Lochia, 107 

Love, passion of, 12 

Masturbation, 201 

Marrying for wealth, 21 

Matrimonial, 11 

voyage, 26 
Mental adaptation, 14 
Milk, deficiency of, 122 

cow's, for baby, 138 

secretion of, 131 
Miscarriage, 74 
Morbid appetite, 133 
Morning sickness, 68 
Morphia, see Opium, 186 
Mother, care of, 106 
Mortality of infants, 111 
Navel, how to dress, 100 
Never marry a "dude," 24 
New-born infant, 91 
Nicotine, 177 

Nurse, qualifications of, 92 
Nursing the baby, 132 
Obedience, 150 
Obscene literature, 210 
Opium, evil effects of, 189 

as a remedy, 188 

poisoning by, 189 

slave to, 192 
Overfeeding the baby, 119 
Pain in the side, 73 
Passion of love, 12 
Percentage of deaths, 112 
Physical adaptation, 18 
Piles, 70 
Placenta, 90 
Position for delivery, 88 

when taking food, 141 
Pregnancy, 50 

signs of, 54 
Preparation of cow's milk, 138 
Primary cause of disease, 46 
Prospective mother, 50 
Pruritus vulva, 70 
Purgative medicine, 107 
Pure air, 94 

Putting children to bed, 151 
Reproduction of man, 42 
Rest and sleep, 65 
Scolding, 155 



Secret vice, 201 

effects on vision, 206 

prevention of, 208 
Self-abuse, 201 

cure lor, 212 

effects on vision, 204 

evil effects of, 204 

prevention of, 208 

symptoms of, 202 
Separate beds to sleep in, 41 
Sexual indulgence during preg- 
nancy, 52 

knowledge, loo 
Shun the tobacco user, 23 

the tippler, 22 

the lustful man, 23 
Signs of pregnancy, 54 
Sleep, 66 
Spermatozoa, 42 
Sperm-cells, 42 
Soothing syrup, 127 
Starting right, 129 
Stuffing and drugging, 126 
Substitute for mother's milk, 138 
Swelling of the feet, 72 
Taking cold, 118 
Teach obedience, 150 
Teething sickness, 114 
Temperature of room, 98 
The breasts, 55 

child's primer, 152 

infant, 91 

lochia, 107 
Three meals a day, 120 
Tight lacing, 59 
Tobacco, evil effects of, 177 

poisoning by, 145 

smoke, 143 
To the reader, 5 
Traditional notions, 60 
Value of a smile, 30 
Varicose veins, 72 
Ventilation, 63 
Washing the baby, 97 
Waterbrash, 68 
Weaning the baby, 141 
What constitutes abuse, 36 
Wheat gruel, 139 
Where did baby come from ? 156 
Who suffers? 34 



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